The Healer That Fell In Love With A Werewolf
by Totally Team Derek Hale
Summary: Talae has been abused and neglected by her parents and wants to be free and has a way to make that happened. What happens when she meets Derek Hale? Will she be able to be free with him? I suck at summaries and when you read the story it will explain.
1. Broken and Bruised

I groaned at the sound of my alarm clock and turned it off hoping for more sleep. But alas my dream were smashed as my father came bursting through the door.

"Talae (pronounced Tah-lay) get your ass up now" He yelled while throwing his empty beer bottle at my head. Thankfully it missed and hit the wall above me. The sound of shattering glass echoed off the walls. Silently I thanked that Scott and Stiles weren't here to witness this. They were my two best friends since preschool and I wouldn't want any other friends like them.

A sharp pain in my head made me cry out as dad dragged me out of bed. Blood welled where my skin and shredded glass met.

"Make me breakfast, you useless bitch" he trailed off and stumbled away. Most people would have sat there and cried much like I wanted to. But what would that do? Nothing absolute nothing. So I pulled myself up ignoring the searing pain. Slowly I limped to the bathroom and pulled the glass out, poured peroxide on it and bandaged it.

Cleaning off the blood I walked down stairs and started to heat up the breakfast I had made late last night just in case. I had a little time before I had to go to school. Classes started at 8:00 and it was only 7:30. The ancient microwave dinged as I placed a fresh beer, his breakfast and a piece of buttered toast on the table. Running up the stairs, I took a quick shower.

Under the hot steaming water I felt as if the blood and dirt wash away. That every little imperfection, little scar or bruise or cut was somehow disguised. Under the water, with the steam as a cover I let myself break down. Only a little though, I didn't sob only let the tears silently streak down my face.

While I shampooed my hair and condition I cried. When I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off I stopped. I got dressed quickly into a scarlet long sleeve and jeans, throwing my hair into a quick ponytail.

Just as I stepped out the door a sharp sting came across my cheek, making my head turn sharply and bang against the door frame.

"What are doing? Do you know how long you've been in there? 15 minutes, get out so I'm not late for work otherwise" but I was already moving , rushing to my bed room. When suddenly I felt something grab my hair and yank.

Falling backward I landed on my back and groaned at the impact. Something cracked when his foot connected with my ribs. Gasping I rolled over coughing and crying in pain. He stepped on my hand on his way to the bathroom making sure to bounce on it till he heard that satisfying _snap_.

When the bathroom door closed I drug myself up slowly trying not to pay attention to the pain. Limping, more like crawling, to my room I looked at the clock beside my bed, the time read 7:55. Crap. Slowly I looked up to see two pairs of shocked eyes of Scott and Stiles.

Omg I really think I'm gonna fall in love with this story it starts off a little slow and crappy but I hope you guys like it and I think I'll have Derek in the next chapter.


	2. Decisions

"Talae what the hell happened to you," Scott said rushing over to me with Stiles following not too far behind.

"How did you guys get in here," I rasped.

"Nevermind how we got in here what did your dad do to you?" Stiles shouted.

"Shh stop shouting just get me out of here and I'll tell you everything. Just please get me out of here."

I slowly stood up and walked over to my desk and grabbed my book bag throwing my school books, ipod, phone, keys, spare clothes and anything else I needed and face them both.

"Let's go," I said limping out of the door with the boys on my heels.

"You seriously want to go to school in the condition you're in? Are you crazy?" Stiles said once we were out of the house and heading towards his jeep.

I turned around and looked at them. I might as well tell them about my condition. It was a shocking one, but it's a part of who I am. And it's not like I can hide it at this point. The healing was already starting.

"I'm gonna show you something but you have to promise not to freak out." They just looked at me confused.

"Why can't you just tell us?" Scott asked.

"Because it's better if I show you first." I looked around for a sharp object when I saw a piece of broken glass on the sidewalk. I bent down and picked it up.

"So you're gonna show us how to pick up broken glass, that's great," Stiles said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

"It's what I'm gonna _do_ with the glass, smartass."

I held out my arm, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I opened my eyes and took the piece of glass and swiftly swiped it across my arm and winced at the pain that I've inflicted on myself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Scott yelled.

"Just watch," I said as I watched the blood trickle down my arm. Both Scott and Stiles watched amazed as the cut started to heal. Once the healing was done, my arm looked as if I never cut it.

"That was the most emo thing I have ever seen," Stiles said and I laughed.

"Yeah, so I guess I should explain huh?"

"You think?" They said in unison.

"I am a healer. I have the ability to heal very quickly and heal others. I was born this way and I'll live with it until the day I die."

"Care to elaborate the whole 'I was born this way' thing?" Stiles said.

"It's been in my family for generations. My grandparents used to tell me this story about my great-great grandmother Sophia Lopez walking along some river in Buenos Aires and came upon a glowing rock and it was calling to her. She reached out and touched it and all of the light from the rock went into her hand and spread throughout her body. She felt faint and passed out but when she woke up she felt different. She went home and made breakfast for her husband and accidentally cut herself and when she went to put on a bandage she couldn't find the cut anymore, because it already healed. She had a child a year later and found that she could heal as fast as Sophia. And that started a generation of healers, a legacy even. So from that point on, all of the Lopez's have this condition, including me."

They just stared at me with wide eyes.

"You know Scott has a similar story with the exception of whole history of rocks and stuff," Stiles said pointing towards Scott.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"Stiles and I went into the forest last night to find the dead body that everyone was talking about."

"Did you find it?"

"Scott found it after I got busted by my dad but he hid behind a tree."

"So what does this have to do with my story?"

"Well after they left I tried to find my way back and a bunch of deer came at me and I dropped my inhaler. When I was looking for I found the body and then I heard a growl from behind me so I turned around and saw that it was a wolf and it charged after me and bit me and so I went home, bandaged and went to sleep and when I woke up I felt different. But I don't know how."

"Oh well do you want me to heal it or something? I mean I've never done it on another person before but I could try."

"I…I guess so." He lifted his shirt up and removed the bandage.

"Uh Scott…"

"What?"

"It's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" He asked frantically.

"Gone as in you don't even look like you were bitten gone."

"That's weird."

"Yeah weird."

"And I was so looking forward to it too. Why do I miss out on these things?" Stiles said disappointed.

"Well I could try it on you. I still got that piece of glass."

He looked hesitant for a few moments. "You know what, I'm good." And with that we started towards the car and made our way to school.

* * *

><p>"So how are you gonna deal with your dad and stuff?" Scott asked as we were sitting in English. We were only a few minutes late so we didn't miss much.<p>

"Well I was kind of thinking of being emancipated and then I could move into my grandparents' house."

"Didn't your grandparents die a couple of years ago?" Stiles butted in, overhearing the conversation.

"Yeah they did but when they died they left everything to me. When my mom left my dad and me they practically disowned her and changed their will because she was an only child and I'm their only granddaughter. They've never liked my dad so they gave everything to me the money, the house, the car everything."

"So how are you gonna get emancipated?"

"I'm gonna get a court declaration, then I'm gonna go to my grandparents' lawyer and get the keys and deed to the house and then I'll move out."

"I don't think your dad's gonna like this Talae," Scott trailed on.

"Don't you think I know that," I said. "Look, I know he won't like this. In fact the term 'he won't like it' is like the understatement of the century. I just need to get court declaration and my dad works weekends so after I get emancipated and get the keys to the house and car and have all of the money transferred to my bank account, I could slowly move out of the house. Fortunately for me my dad doesn't know where they're house is so it can be an easy move."

Before either Scott or Stiles could say anything the door opened and the principal walked in.

"Everyone," he called. "This is our new student, Allison Argent. I hope you all welcome her nicely to Beacon Hills."

Once the principal left she walked toward the back of the room and sat behind Scott. When I turned around to look Scott was being all smiley and blushing. He liked the girl. I will _not _let him hear the end of this.

* * *

><p>When class was over I made my way over to Scott and Stiles and saw Scott staring off into space. I followed his gaze and saw that he was in fact staring at <em>Allison Argent. <em>And she was talking to Jackson and Lydia.

"The new girl has been here for all of 5 minutes and Cruella Deville is already looking into stealing her puppies. Why?" I asked.

"Well for one thing she's hot and hot people gotta stick together. You obviously missed your chance." Stiles said. I scoffed.

"Are you serious?" He through his hands up and backed away slowly.

"I'm just saying."

* * *

><p>As soon as classes were over I made my way towards the lacrosse field and sat on the bench. Scott was playing goalie and Stiles was sitting on the bench. Surprisingly Scott got better at lacrosse. He totally sucked last year.<p>

"Who's that?" I heard someone ask beside me. I looked to my right and saw Allison and Lydia sitting next to me looking towards the field.

"Um, that's Scott McCall, why," I said.

"Oh well uh he's in my English class. But what's your name? I'm Allison Argent."

"Talae Lopez, I'm actually in that class to."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled and nodded and looked towards Lydia.

"Cruella." I hissed.

"Lopez." She snapped. "Aren't you supposed to be applying for citizenship or something?"

"Aren't you supposed to be turning tricks or something?" I snapped back as Allison chuckled.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Lydia is just a royal pain."

"Yeah but why would she say something about applying for citizenship? Are you an illegal immigrant? I mean you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No it's fine. I am not and illegal immigrant. I'm half Argentinean and half Columbian. When I talk some words might sound funny because I kinda have an accent. And Lydia's been making fun of me because of it since the third grade."

"Wow, that's so cool, but no one should ever make fun of you because of who you are."

"You know, I like you." I said and she laughed.

"I like you too. And I can actually tell you have an accent too. It's really nice. I kinda wish I had one."

"Thank you. And don't worry, you're fine just the way you are."

* * *

><p>"Hey Talae Scott and I are going back to the preserve to find the body you wanna come," Stiles asked as we made our way towards his jeep.<p>

"Sure it's not like I'm itching to get home anyway."

"About that, I don't think that you should go back home. After what we saw today you're not going back I won't let you," he said.

"Stiles I won't go back tonight, I'll stay with you but I have to go back sometime. I need to wait it out and I'll see about getting the declaration tomorrow and it might take a couple of weeks before it goes through."

"Okay as much as I hate it, you're kind of right." I smiled widely seeing as I got my way.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"I have no idea how it happened," Scott said. "It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball."<p>

"Well it was freaking awesome," Stiles said.

The three of us ventured into the preserve in search of the supposed dead body that Scott found last night. As we walked Scott talked about how he miraculously became so great at lacrosse and how he could hear and smell things that he shouldn't while Stiles just made a big joke out of it.

After about a mile and a half of walking we suddenly stopped, the body was apparently supposed to be here but it was gone.

"Maybe the killer came back for it," Stiles said.

"Yeah well I hope he left my inhaler that things cost like 80 bucks."

I chuckled and suddenly I got this feeling. Like I was being watched. I slowly turned around and saw a man standing a few feet away from us. From what I could see he was dressed in all black. He had slightly tan skin and his hair was spiked in different directions.

"Oh damn," I heard Stiles say.

_Oh damn is right!_

"What are you doing here? This is private property."

Jesus Christ his voice was so husky and deep and something else that I can't explain. When he walked towards us I realized that he was a lot taller than I expected. When his beautiful greenish-grey eyes landed on me I froze in my position. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't even think. All I could do was stare at him and I couldn't tear my eyes away.

"We were just looking for something but nevermind," Scott said.

The man pulled something out of his pocket and threw in to Scott who caught it effortlessly. It was his inhaler. The man took one last look at me, turned around and left.

"What the hell," Scott said starting to walk away. I started to follow him but Stiles called after us.

"Do you know who that was?" he asked.

"Not a clue," I said.

"That…that's Derek Hale," he paused yet no response from us. "He's only a few years older than us. His whole family died in a fire like 10 years ago."

"That's really unfortunate," I said.

"Yeah it is, look I'm gonna be late for work let's go," Scott said and I hurried to follow him.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Stilinski thank you so much for letting me stay here tonight I really appreciate it."<p>

"No problem Talae you're like family," he said with a smile which I returned.

"But thank you anyway."

"Hey Talae why don't we go to my room and uh finish our homework, I actually need some help with my Spanish," Stiles suggested and I nodded, making my way towards the staircase with Stiles following close behind.

"Hey Stiles," Mr. Stilinski called and we both stopped in mid walk.

"Yeah dad?"

"Door stays open." He said, his eyes shift between Stiles and I. My eyes widened in shock and I could feel the blood rush to my face. This was extremely embarrassing.

"Dad!"

Mr. Stilinski put his hands up in defense. I laughed and made my way up the stairs towards Stiles' room.

* * *

><p>After two hours of homework and studying, we were finally finished. I freaking hate homework. So now here we are throwing a paper ball back and forth with nothing to do because of the boredom. I actually managed to hit Stiles in the face a couple of times, it was pretty funny.<p>

"So," he started. "How are you going to get this court order thing? Like...what do you have to do?"

"Um all I know is that I have to go to Sacramento to get it. And I have to pay a fee but I have no idea how much but I'll pay as much as I can to get away from my dad. And that's pretty much all that I know."

Stiles nodded taking in the little information that I gave him. I understand that this is a long process but I'm willing to wait as long as I have to. After a moment of a long silence Stiles sighed and sat up from his bed.

"Are you really sure that you want to do this? It takes a lot of time and energy. But then I think about how unhappy you are. Talae I haven't seen you this down since…"

"My mom left," I finished for him. He nodded.

"Yeah."

"Stiles you have no idea how much this means to me," I said. "I've been unhappy for years but I never let it show. I didn't want to bring you and Scott down because I was having a tough time. And quite frankly I think that my mom left because of my dad. And you know what I don't blame her. All I know is that I want to be as far away from my dad as possible. Plus this thing with Vili has got me so on edge. I just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask?"

Stiles crawled towards me and enveloped me into a tight hug. It was something that I really needed and I was happy that he could see that. He pulled away and looked me in the eyes.

"I understand how much you want this. And _I _want you as far away from your dad as you can possibly get. I'll help you. I'll get my dad to help you get the papers you need, you have me and Scott and my dad and…"

"Thank you," I said stopping him from his rant. "It means so much to me that you guys are by my side 100%. I really appreciate it."

"And don't worry about Vili. You're better off without him."

I guess I should explain the whole Vili situation. Vili Moss is my ex-boyfriend. I went out with him for about a year and a half. And in that year and a half he has done nothing but treat me like crap. And I used to think that this was how I was supposed to be treated seeing as the way that my father treats me, I thought it was the way that he showed me how much he loved me.

He used to pressure me into having sex with him, but I was never ready and so I guess that he just got so tired of me saying no that he finally found somebody that would tell him yes. And that person was my supposed friend Gloria Fuller. The bitch stabbed me in the back and slept with Vili. And then he still expected for me to be his girlfriend and have sex with him. Well I'll tell you one thing he is not taking my virginity. It is very precious to me and I will wait until I fall in love with someone and actually feel that I love that person and then I'll have sex with him. Until then…Nuh-uh.

"You're right. I'm just done with all of the drama in my life. It's not a good look on me."

Stiles laughed and nodded.

"No, it's not," he said. "So, let's go look on the computer and find some info and see what you have to do to get away from that jackass of a father you have."

"Okay," I laughed and got up and walked towards his desk.

My freedom was finally coming. And I am _not _going to let any_thing _or any_one_ get in the way of it.

* * *

><p>Okay of I figured that I should cut the chapter here um I don't know if you'll like it. But I hope you do.<p>

In the next chapter I would like to speed up the emancipation process so in the next chapter Talae will already be emancipated and in the process of going to the lawyer and moving out. But that's all I'm going to tell you.

And there will be some more Derek in next chapter. Don't worry I've got this covered. Til next time…

TTDH


	3. Moving and Midnight Strolls

In my hands, I have the key to my freedom. With this key, I could start a new life for myself, I could move into my grandparents old house, I could be as far away from my dad as I could possibly get and I would never have to look over my should wondering what he would do to harm me next.

In my hands I have my emancipation papers. I am officially an adult. I can make grown up decision – not that I haven't been doing that my entire life – and people wouldn't think of me as a child. I can make choices for myself and not have to listen to my father chastise me about it. It feels good to be free.

"So…what are you gonna do now?" I looked to my left and saw Stiles looking at me curiously. We were sitting in his jeep and Scott was in the back seat watching me closely as I was staring at my papers and grinning like an idiot.

"Oh uh, well next I want to go to the lawyer and get the things that I need like the car keys and deed to the house, stuff like that. And then I need some boxes so I can start to pack."

"On what days does your dad work?" Scott asked.

"Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and weekends." I said. "Why?"

"You need a schedule; you know days that you can move your things from one house to the next."

I thought about it for a second. And it was a good idea. On weekdays when I come home from school, I could move things from my dad's house to my new house until my dad got home. And on weekends I had all day to pack and move my things.

"Okay," I said. "It seems like a very sensible plan."

On the way to the lawyers' office, the three of us talked about what we should do as to how we were going to move my things. We all agreed that we would rent a U-haul truck and keep it at my grandparents' house to hide it from my dad.

When we got to the building, Scott and Stiles insisted that they come with me instead of wait in the car – not that it was necessary – but came with me anyway.

We entered the building and stopped at the front desk where a very perky receptionist sat.

"Hello Miss, do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"Uh yes I do with Elizabeth Fischer, I'm Talae Lopez."

She smiled and nodded and looked to my right and looked skeptically at something. I followed her gaze and saw Scott and Stiles staring at the receptionist with their arms crossed and standing in a 'tough guy' look. I shook my head and sighed.

"Uh, don't worry they're with me," I reassured her.

"Oh okay," she said. "Um why don't you have a seat and Mrs. Fischer will be right with you."

"Okay thank you." I looked over to the dynamic duo who I might add were still in their stances. I rolled my eyes and smacked the both of them on the arm. They looked at me with the 'what the hell' look.

"Stop playing and sit down."

"Oh come on Tee," Stiles started, taking a seat next to me. "These places can be very intimidating."

"How?'

"Well we haven't really figured out why just yet," Scott said from the other side of me. "But when we do, we'll tell you."

"Okay, fair enough."

We sat and waited for a few minutes and then heard a door open.

"Talae Lopez…"

I stood up and walk over to her and shook her hand. It was pale in comparison to mine considering the fact that my skin is tan.

"It is so good to see you Talae," she said smiling. "The last time I saw you, you were four-years-old. How are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm even better now," I said chuckling. "And it's good to see you too although I don't really remember you that well. I'm sorry."

"Its fine, hey why don't we go into the office and catch up and see what we can do for you."

"Okay," I said about to walk but she stopped me. "What's wrong?"

"Are those two your bodyguards or something?"

"Huh?" I turned around and saw Scott and Stiles giving Elizabeth the same look they were giving the receptionist earlier. I sighed once again.

"Guys come on, she's not trying to intimidate me I mean look at her she couldn't hurt a fly. Calm down okay?" They dropped their arms, nodded their heads and sat down.

"I'm sorry those are my best friends Scott and Stiles," I said. "They were just looking out for me that's all."

She nodded her head and led me towards her office. When we got in there I thought that it was the most beautiful room I've ever seen. The lights were dim and the walls were an almond color with white trimmings and red bamboo leaning against the wall on one wall there were wall decorations with flowers and butterflies. And on another wall were paintings of Japanese writing with the English words.

_Peace._

_Tranquility._

_Faith._

_Hope._

"Wow," I said, mesmerized at what I saw before me. "Your office is beautiful."

"Why thank you Tea leaf," she said. "They let me decorate my office any way I wanted so this is what I came up with."

"Tea leaf?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

She chuckled at my confused look. "When you were little, you used to come here with your grandmother all the time. Are your eyes are the color of tea leaves so that's what I decided to call you."

I nodded in understanding.

"So how is your mother?"

I froze in my spot. It was kind of a Taboo subject when it came to my mom. She left my dad and me a little after my fifth birthday. No one knew besides my dad, grandparents, Scott, Stiles, Ms. McCall and Mr. Stilinski. It hurt too much to talk about it.

"I wouldn't know," I said taking a seat in the chair across from her desk. "She left when I turned five and I haven't heard from her since then."

"I'm so sorry honey," she said sitting at her desk. "You didn't deserve that, as sweet as you are." I nodded.

"So what are you here for?"

"Well uh I got my emancipation papers and I was wondering if I could have everything that I grandparents left for me. I can't stay in that house with him anymore. The way that he treats me is just so horrible and no child should ever have to go through what I went through from the time I was five up until now."

At this point I was crying. I didn't want to seem like one of those people who cry to get their way but these were the most genuine tears that I have ever shed. I just hope that she can see that.

"Please, Elizabeth," I begged. "Please say you'll help me."

"Sweetheart," she started. "I was hired to help you and your family since day one. I see that you are one strong young lady and you can make it through anything. Your grandparents have taught you well. I would be glad to help you."

By this time I was crying even harder.

"Thank you so much," I cried. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You don't have to thank me honey."

After about 25 minutes of filling out paperwork and making up budgets, I finally had the keys, deed to my house and car. She walked me towards the do and I was about to open it when she stopped me.

"I hope you have a wonderful life, Talae," she said. "I wish nothing but the best for you, I wish you absolute happiness."

Oh crap now I'm about to cry again.

"Thank you Elizabeth, for being here for me and giving me even more freedom than I could handle at this moment."

"No worries Tea leaf. Be happy, you deserve it more than anyone I know."

I pulled her into a tight hug and sighed. I opened the door and walked out of the office and into the quite lobby where Scott sat slanted in his seat looking bored while Stiles was bouncing his right knee rapidly and had his hand in his mouth as he was biting his finger nail.

"Um guys," I said. They jumped about 10 feet in the air.

"Oh hey Talae," Stiles said smiling but then his smile disappeared just as fast as it came. "Aww why are you crying?" He brushed the tears away with his thumb.

"I'm just so happy," I said pulling out the deed, house and car keys. Scott stood up wide-eyed and smiling.

"No freaking way!"

"I know huh?" I said. "I can't even describe the happiness that I feel it's like…AHH!"

I pulled then both into a group hug and basked in the moment. I can't believe I'm free from my father and the abuse that I've had to deal with for almost half my life. This is a new beginning for me and I will let nothing or no one stop me from getting me what I want.

_3 days later…_

Scott, Stiles and I were packing up my things and putting them inside the U-haul truck we rented a couple of days ago. I didn't really have much so we only took a couple of days to move half of my things into the truck. And when we took the truck back to my new home, I would just unpack it.

"This is the last box," Scott said, loading it into the truck.

"Really?" I asked making my way back into the house. "I knew I didn't have a lot but geeze."

"Well we didn't have enough boxes so we just put a lot of stuff in one box," Stiles said.

I walked into the house and ran up the stairs and into my room. The walls were bare and stripped of poster and pictures, my closet was empty and free of clothing as were my drawers. There was nothing in this room except the bed and dresser.

"Wow," I said looking around the vacant room.

_Slam!_

I gasped. Oh God, what is he doing here so early? I turned around and looked at Scott and Stiles with panic in my eyes.

"TALAE! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!

I sighed and made my way towards the stairs. This had to happen sometime. I guess it had to be now. I turned to Scott and Stiles.

"Just stay up here and I'll yell for you guys."

They nodded and I proceeded to make my way down the stairs. My heart was beating a mile a minute, my palms were sweating and I was panting. When I got to the bottom of the stairs I saw my dad waiting at the front door with a very angry expression on his face.

"What the hell is a U-haul truck doing in my drive way?"

"I'm moving out."

Then his expression went from mad to furious.

Moving out? You're moving out? And what makes you think you can move out? You won't survive without me! You are nothing without me you stupid bitch! Nothing! He shouted.

"See that's where you're wrong because I am everything without you! I'm stronger, better, faster, wiser. And you know what I'm not stupid. I'm very intelligent. In fact you are the one that's nothing without me!" I snapped back.

"I'll be fine without you. Trust me I will be. So if you want to leave then leave and be miserable. I wish you a lot of misery."

"Fine then I'm gone," I said. "Oh and one more thing?"

"What?"

"Now I see why mom left you?"

He just stood there gaping. Yeah that's right I said it. And you know what normally I would feel bad but I want him to feel the same pain that I felt every day of my life that he was beating me.

"Scott, Stiles let's go!"

They scrambled down the stairs and ran out the door. I turned to follow them but then dad stopped me.

"Talae…"

I turned around just to get back-handed me. I wouldn't have expected anything less. I nodded and turned towards the door and walked out. I walked to the truck and got in, telling Stiles to drive to the house.

As soon as I got to the house I exited the truck and grabbed my keys. I unlocked the door and walked upstairs.

"Talae," I heard Scott call.

"What," I said.

"What happened with your dad?" he asked.

"Basically, My dad said that I'm nothing without him and I said that he was nothing without me and then he told me to leave and that he hoped that I would be miserable for the rest of my life and so I told him that I now know why my mother left him years ago and then he slapped me."

"Jesus Talae…"

"I don't want to deal with it right now. All I want to do is move the rest of my things in, eat and go to bed," I said. "That's it."

"Okay."

After about an hour and a half we finished bringing the boxes in and putting everything away. I cooked dinner for the three of us seeing as I went grocery shopping a couple of days ago. We were all sitting in the dining room eating chicken stir-fry and just talking. Scott must have passed on the memo to Stiles that I didn't want to talk about what occurred in my father's house earlier today and for that I was grateful.

"So what are you gonna do with this house?" Stiles asked. "Like how are you gonna decorate it."

"Well seeing as my grandparents totally remodeled it," I said. "I'm gonna leave it just the way it is. It totally looked like they put a ton of money into redoing the whole house. I can't do anything with it."

When I was about 10 my dad said that I couldn't go there anymore. He practically forced me to stay home. So I haven't seen the house in years and this is what they did with it.

"Well you should because this place is awesome," Scott said finally looking up from his plate after inhaling his food. I swear to God I have no idea where that boy puts it all.

"Yeah it is. Although I will paint the little dance studio this week."

Then all of a sudden I heard a hand smack the table with a loud bang. It startled me and I looked to see Stiles with a crazy look in his eye.

"What the hell," I said.

"You should have a party here."

Scott and I looked at each other.

"What?"

"Yeah a party, you know like a house warming type thing. You have the room for it plus you have a huge pool in the back yard, it would be awesome!"

"And when would we have this party?"

"Next Friday," he said.

"NEXT FRIDAY?" Scott and I shouted.

"You have gotta be out of your mind," Scott said.

"Yeah party planning takes weeks, months even. And you want to have a party next Friday."

"Come on," Stiles pleaded. "If it's so difficult then I'll help you plan it." He made eyes really big and started to pout. "Please, say you'll have a party. For me." Oh God he knows I can't say no to that face.

"Ugh fine! Next Friday, and you better help me plan it. You too Scott."

"Why me?"

"Because I need all the help I can get." Then something popped in my head.

"Wait… isn't Lydia having a party _tomorrow_?"

"Oh yeah," Stiles said. "Oh well."

I sighed and shook my head.

"Oh speaking of that party tomorrow," Scott started. "I asked Allison out."

There was silence and the Stiles busted out laughing.

"Stiles," I hissed.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just never thought that it would be him out of the three of us to get a date. I mean maybe you but not him."

"Whatever, Stiles lets go," Scott said storming out of the dining room.

"See what you did?" I said.

"What I was just joking."

"Well he doesn't know that. Now go make up."

Stiles looked at me like I was crazy and I gave him the look right back.

"Okay," he said walking off into the living room.

I followed him outside and saw them shaking hands.

"See that's what I like to see," I said smiling. They laughed and I hugged them both goodnight.

"Okay now give me a kiss," Stiles said pointing to his cheek. I tapped him on his face.

"There now get out of here." We all laughed and Stiles turned to leave but Scott stayed behind.

"Hey can I talk to you for a sec," Scott said looking at me as Stiles walked towards his jeep.

"Yeah what's up?"

"I know Stiles was just joking about my going out with Allison earlier but how do you feel about it?" 

"Scott, you don't need to worry about how I feel about you going out with her," I said. "But if I know you like I know you, you want a straight answer. So I think that Allison is a very kind, caring, sweet girl and you couldn't pick anyone better than her if you tried." Just then Scott's face seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

"Thanks Tee I just wanted to hear that from someone other than my mom," he said laughing and I soon followed. Just then Scott stopped laughing and had a serious look on his face, staring towards the tree line.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked following his gaze. I couldn't see anything.

"I…I don't know," he stuttered. "It was like I… felt a presence."

I chuckled. "A _presence_?" I asked. "Dude come on. Don't get all 'I see dead people' on me. You've been acting really weird lately. What's going on?"

"I don't know," he said shaking his head. "It's just… ever since that night in the woods… ever since that wolf bit me, I've been acting really strange. It's like I can run faster, see clearer, hear better. It's like I'm a _better_ version of myself_._"

I nodded my head. "Okay well maybe it's nothing. Maybe some good will come out of it. You never know."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Of course I am," I said smiling.

_Honk!_

Scott and I rolled our eyes. Stiles can be _so_ impatient sometimes.

"His majesty is waiting," I laughed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." I hugged him and watched as he ran – quite fast I might add – towards Stiles' jeep. I watched as they backed out of the driveway and rode into the street.

Sighing and running a hand through my hair, I sat down on the little porch swing and started thinking about the day that I have been through. I mean wow I finished packing my things, finally stood up to my dad – only to literally be slapped in the face – and now I getting ready to host a house warming. That's a lot to take on.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a violent rustle in the forest. Most people – normal people – would think that it was just the wind blowing roughly through the trees. But people like me – most likely weird people – would think that something that wasn't the wind cause the leaves to rustle that way and would want to go explore it. So being the person that I am – a weirdo – went into the house and grabbed the flashlight that was in the kitchen and a hoodie and walked back outside, making sure the door was unlocked so I could get back in and closed the door, making my way into the deep, dark woods.

I switched on the flashlight and it illuminated only ten feet or so in front of me. Which wasn't a lot. But something pushed me forward, told me to go anyway. The sun, which was just barely out only seconds before, had completely disappeared under the cover of darkness. The forest, oddly enough, was completely silent. Not animal noises, nothing. That really should have been another reason for me to hightail it out of there, but still, I was pushed further.

And deeper. Until when I turned around I was not able to see the house anymore, just more forest.

And that's when I heard it.

A faint rustling in the greenery. I swung my flashlight in the direction I heard it but there was nothing there. At least not in the ten feet I could see.

"Someone there?"

Nothing. I was just about to turn around when I was interrupted by a voice.

"Yes, someone is here. But the question is what are _you _doing here?"

I swung in the direction of the voice, but again, nothing was there.

_I am going to die in this forest._

"I... I was just looking around."

"It's late and it's dark."

The voice seemed oddly familiar. Like I've heard it before but in a different setting. I tried to remember the last time I heard _that_ voice.

"_What are you doing here? This is private property."_

Then I knew who it was…

"Derek?"

I turned around and slammed hard into his burning chest, letting out an 'oomph'. Turning away, I tripped over my own foot, and before I could put my hands out, I was going _down._

And was promptly caught and righted before the scream that had started to build in my throat had a chance to erupt.

It was that _fast. _

I turned to face him and I could see only his silhouette in the dark of the forest. My flashlight had been knocked to the ground and the light was directed away from where he was standing.

"You okay?"

His voice sounded concerned, and I squinted to look at him. He reached over, picked up my flashlight, and handed it to me.

I aimed it at him.

He appeared to be wearing the same thing I saw him in the day I met him. The only difference is that he had a different t-shirt. I aimed the flashlight in his face and he flinched away, only for a second. I put it down and smiled.

"Thank you."

"Yeah, sure."

"So," I started. "What are you doing out here."

He scoffed. "Me? I should be asking you the same question."

"I heard something and I wanted to know what it was."

"So you decided to wander in the woods by yourself."

"Look I was just gonna see what it was and then go back home. It's not I was gonna go on some great adventure, it's not a big deal."

"Says: the girl who almost tripped and hurt herself."

"Says: the guy who nearly gave me a heart attack."

He smirked. "Touché."

I chuckled. "Yeah I can be a smartass sometimes."

He chuckled. "So, where is your house?"

I made a face. "Why would I tell you?"

He rolled his eyes. "You want to get home, don't you?"

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"_Dead girl found in her home," _I news broadcasted.

"I don't want to hurt you. I want to get you home. I wouldn't need to know where you live to kill you."

"Stalk me?"

"Maybe. But not kill."

"Oh so you admit it."

He smiled and I smiled back, and there was a moment of weird silence where we just kinda smiled at each other.

And then I felt it:

_Chemistry._ I felt some invisible force tie my wrist to his, there in the darkness as I looked at him.

I cleared my throat, and the feeling almost disappeared. Almost.

"Okay I live that way," I said pointing ahead of me. "The porch light is on so you can't miss it."

He tried to follow the direction that I was pointing in. "Oh okay I see it."

"You can?" I asked squinting my eyes. The house had to be at least 20 feet from here. I don't know how he could see it. Eh, maybe I need to invest in some glasses or contacts.

"Yeah. It's not that far."

"Pft, if you call 20 feet 'not that far,'" I muttered.

"Whatever, let's go.

He grabbed my hand and I swallowed down a lump of left-over nervousness. His hand was hot in mine, but it felt good against the chill of the night. My other hand felt lonely, all alone in the pocket of my hoodie.

"So, I just realized that in the middle of our little forest scare, I never introduced myself."

"Okay…"

"My name is Talae. Talae Lopez."

"I'm Derek. Derek Hale," he responded but there was no need for him to tell me his name since I already knew.

"So, you never answered my question earlier?" I conversationally asked, stumbling around in the darkness and depending on his hand to save me from an early demise. Derek led me to a path before he answered.

"I usually take walks around this time," he said. "It's quite and it gives me some time to think."

I nodded. Before I knew it, we were clear of the forest, and we were standing next to my house. I was ever so conscious of the fact that he still held my hand steadfastly in his, and his eyes traced up and down the house before he placed them on me.

"Promise me you won't be taking anymore night walks into the forest. I might not be around to protect you next time."

My voice faulted looking at him, and it came out softer than usual, like I was telling a secret. "Scouts honor."

"Good."

I looked at him looking down at me and I blushed. My body betrayed me. I'm sure he saw me, and he quickly let my hand go. I tucked it into my pocket.

"So… thanks." I said, after the cool breeze had cooled of my face. "I mean, you didn't have to do that."

"Do you think I'd leave you out there in the woods to freeze to death?"

"I didn't say you _would_. I'm just saying you didn't have to."

"The pleasure is all mine."

Then I thought of something.

"Hey are you hungry?"

He looked at me with confusion and intensity mixed together. It was kind of the: what is she getting at kind of look.

"I…I guess. Why?"

I shrugged. "I have some leftovers from tonight's dinner and I was just thinking that maybe I could give my 'hero' a thank you dinner."

He looked hesitant for a couple of seconds. I rolled my eyes.

"Come on, I'm not gonna poison you or anything."

"I'm not worried about that it's just… no one's ever done that for me."

He kind of looked sad for a second but then his regular tough features came back just as fast as they went. I gave him a sad smile.

"Well, there's a first for everything. Come on." I led the way into the house and I could hear Derek's footsteps following behind me. Once I was on the porch I stood at the door and turned to face Derek. He gave me a confused look.

"I just want to warn you that I just moved in so if the house a bit disheveled, it's only because I'm still trying to figure out how I want things." He snorted.

"Don't worry about what I think about your house because whatever situation you have going on in there is _way_ better than what I've got going on."

I chuckled and opened the door. We walked in and walked through the living room and went into the kitchen. I told Derek he could have a seat at the island while I made his plate. I went to the cabinet and get a plate and then went to the stove and put two big spoonfuls of food on his plate. I put it in the microwave for about a minute and then took it out, got a fork and put his plate in front of him.

He looked at the plate with confusion and then looked back me.

"I should probably tell you what you're eating before you shove it in your mouth huh?" I asked and he nodded. "Uh that's chicken stir-fry. Noodles, chicken and broccoli. Its ready good, go ahead and eat."

And eat he did. He took that first bite, sighed and started to shove the food in his mouth. I watched in amazement as he consumed all of the food in less than five minutes. I've never seen anyone eat that fast. It's inhumane.

"Um," I started, not sure of what to say. "Do you want some more?"

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at me.

"Uh no."

"Well you really seemed to like it. Do you want to take the rest home with you?" I asked. "Because I doubt that I'll eat the rest of it."

"Sure, thanks."

I smiled and grabbed his plate and put it in the sink. I grabbed a container out of the cabinet and started to put the rest of the stir-fry into it.

"So," Derek started. "Where are your parents?"

I froze in my spot. I didn't think that he would ask that question. Not that I didn't think that it would come up in the future but I didn't think it would be this soon. A small part of me didn't want to tell him because I didn't know him that well. But the larger part of me did because I felt that I could trust him with anything. Even my deep dark secret.

"I moved out of my dad's house," I responded.

"Why would you move out?"

"Because I couldn't take being there anymore so I got emancipated and moved in here."

"What is it about your dad that makes living there so bad and what does your mother have to say about this?"

I finished packing his food and closed the lid on the container before I answered.

"My mom left my dad and me after I turned 5. I don't know what happened to the sweet and loving dad I use to have but shortly after her departure, he started to abuse me. And I would take it day in and day out. He even tried to rape me once with the help of one of his sluts, Kristen, Kathryn, Kate. Yeah Kate was her name I forgot her last name but I could _never_ forget her face."

I paused and looked up from the counter and looked at Derek. His face was contorted with anger, rage and hatred. His hands were balled into fists and his jaw was clenched. And his eyes, those gorgeous eyes looked as if they had fire in them. I was almost afraid to look at him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he answered. I could tell that his words were forced. "You can finish."

I nodded and started again. "So someone must have called the police and they came busting in my room and so they arrested him and Kate. He and Kate told the same lie that I had epilepsy and I was having a seizure. Before the detective came in the hospital room that I was in Kate told me that if I told them the truth she would kill my dad and me. So I told them I had epilepsy and my dad was trying to keep me from shaking. She disappeared like six years ago and I never heard from her again. Then the abuse got worse and one day Scott and Stiles saw me all beat and broken. And that was that, I got my papers and I got this house that my grandparents left me and I was free."

His features calmed slightly. But I could still tell that he was mad.

"Derek?"

"Yes."

"Why are you mad?"

"I just hate that that had to happen to you," he answered. "You didn't deserve what they did to you."

"I know but it's in the past. And I just want to move forward and just be happy."

"You deserve happiness."

"So do you."

His green eye looked into mine and I could feel some kind of pull. Like we were in our own little world. No one else but us.

He dropped his gaze and nodded and I smiled slightly. I handed him his food and watched as he took it.

"Oh yeah thanks." I nodded in acknowledgment.

"I should get going," he said. "It's late."

I looked at the clock and it read 9:30. _Wow time flies when you're talking about your past._

"Yeah you're right."

I walked him to the door and said good-bye. He said good-bye back and walked out of the door, off the porch and into the woods.

I closed the door and went back into the kitchen and washed the dishes. After I was done I turned the lights out and went upstairs and got ready for bed.

I climbed into bed and fell to sleep dreaming about Derek Hale and his gorgeous green eyes.


	4. Parties and Paint Part 1

I fucking hate parties.

Well actually no I don't hate parties, what I hate is when my best friend – whom I really want to strangle right now – drags me to a party that one I _know_ I wasn't invited to and two when the host of the party is my arch enemy Lydia Martin. I didn't want to be here, but Stiles showed up at my house and basically kidnapped me. I grabbed myself a drink and found a few girls from the gymnastics team to talk to. In the middle of the conversation, I felt someone staring at me. When I turned around, I saw Derek. He was staring at me, with an emotionless face. I was going to approach him, when I was suddenly pushed out of the way. I turned to see whole the asshole was. It was Scott.

"Scott!" I called, walking out of the house. "Dude what the hell?"

He didn't stop. He just rushed to his car and just sped off.

"SCOTT!" I heard someone call. I looked behind me and saw Allison running out of the house. She spotted me and made a sigh of what looked like relief. She walked over to me waving.

"Hey Talae," she said frowning.

"Oh, hey Allison. What's wrong?"

"Scott was acting so weird a few minutes ago. And then he just took off."

"I know I just saw him leave. Just hopped in his car and sped off."

"What the hell…" she said running a hand through her hair.

"You know I would totally give you a ride," I started. "But Stiles was my ride here and…"

"Isn't that Stiles over there?" She asked pointing across the street. I looked at where she was pointing and saw Stiles rushing to his jeep and speeding off.

_Oh yeah, I'm gonna kill him._

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Well I guess the both of us don't have a ride home then huh?" I asked trying to make a joke out of this but we both knew that it wasn't funny… _at all._

Allison groaned and put her head in her hands. I walked over to her and rubbed circles on her back soothingly.

"I just hope that I didn't do or say anything to make him just peel out like that."

"Don't worry," I told her reassuringly. "You did nothing wrong. Maybe he had an emergency or something."

She nodded and took a deep breath. We stood there in silence for a moment, listening to the music that was coming from out of the house. We stayed like that for a few minutes until I heard someone calling my name.

"Talae!"

I turned around and saw Derek walking towards us.

"Hey," I responded. "What's up?"

"Why are you two standing out here?" he asked. I had the strangest feeling that he asked the question when he already knew the answer.

"My ride/date just up and left me and her friend just took off," Allison said beating me to the punch.

"I can give you guys a ride," he offered. "I mean if you want one." He pointed to his car.

"Sure!" Allison said making a b-line for Derek's car. I just stood there starting.

She must really want to go home.

Derek turned to me.

"Are you coming or what?" He asked. I waited for a second. Should I get in the car with him? I mean I did let him into my home yesterday. But could I fully trust him?

"Yes." I said answering both Derek and my thoughts. I walked to the car and got in the back seat. I put on my seat belt and leaned back in the seat, closed my eyes and sighed. I just want to go home and go to bed so I can get up and paint the studio in the morning. I opened my eyes and waited for Derek to start the car.

The ride to Allison's house was quiet. But it wasn't that long. When we pulled up to her house I stepped out of the back seat and I realized something.

"Hey Allison!" I called. She was just about to open her front door.

"Yeah,"

"I'm having a party next Friday. Kind of like a housewarming and it's supposed to be really warm that day and I have a pool so bring your bathing suit if you have one."

"Okay I'll definitely be there," She said smiling. "Oh what kind of gift do you want me to bring?"

"You don't have to bring one. I have everything I need."

"Well I'm going to anyway. I'll see you in school on Monday."

"Okay, bye." I stepped into the car and put my seat belt on and Derek didn't hesitate to drive off.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I almost forgot to tell her."

"It's fine," he replied. "But why are you having a party next Friday when you just moved in yesterday?"

I looked at him and said "Stiles. He wanted to have a party and since the house is pretty much perfect he decided that we should have a party next Friday. And I don't know why I feel this way but I think he picked that particular date for some reason."

I have absolutely no idea why. I kept trying to convince Stiles to move the party to a later date, but he keeps saying that it has to be that exact date otherwise it wouldn't be special. What?

"How many people are you planning on having at your house?"

"Not many people," I said. "I just _hope_ that Stiles doesn't go off the deep end and invite a whole heap of people. And plus I have to paint my dance studio tomorrow. God I haven't even bought any paint yet."

I sighed and rubbed my face over my hands.

"I could help you if you want," he offered.

"Uh," I said unable to answer. This seemed very unusual of him. "Sure, do you want to go paint shopping with me?" He chuckled and I did the same. We stopped at a stoplight and he turned to look at me. He brushed a strand of hair out of my face and tucked it behind by ear. As he did this I felt a chill come over me like a title wave. I blushed furiously and scowled at myself for feeling this nervous. I just hoped that he didn't see the red tint under my slightly tanned skin. But again my wishes didn't come true and the moonlight shimmered through the windshield and shined on my face. There was absolutely no doubt that he could see in then.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said as I chuckled nervously. "I'll go paint shopping with you. And don't try to hide your pretty face from me."

I looked at him shocked. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

The rest of the ride to my house was quiet. But it wasn't awkwardly silent. It was comfortable silence.

"So I was wondering," I started to ask nervously. "Do you want to come to my party on Friday? I mean it's okay if you don't want to but I was just wondering."

I started to bounce my right knee nervously, waiting for his answer. I was really anxious. What would he say? Would he say yes to my invitation or just laugh it off and decline? He looked at me and then back at the road and pulled off when the light turned green.

"I'll come," he said. "Do you need me to bring anything? I know I still have your container, but do you want a gift or something?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "Like I told Allison, I have everything I need. You can bring one if you want to but you don't have to."

He shrugged and said, "Okay."

After a few moments of silence Derek finally spoke again. "I meant to ask you yesterday, um what are you?"

I gasped and my eyes widened. What did he mean by 'what am I'? Did he suspect something about me? Did he know I was a healer?

_Okay Talae just keep cool. Maybe you're jumping to conclusions._

"What do you mean?" I asked trying to hide my nervousness.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," he started. "It's just that you have an accent and I was just really curious."

"Oh," I said sighing of relief. "I'm half Columbian half Argentinean. Sometimes I hate my accent. People use to make fun of it when I was a kid. I felt like Fez from That 70's Show."

He laughed. "Don't worry you didn't offend me," I said.

"Yeah, just for the record," he started. "I won't ever make fun of you I really like your accent."

I blushed furiously again. I silently cursed my body for betraying me.

I cleared my throat nervously, hoping that he didn't notice.

"Thanks," I said. He just nodded and kept driving. About five minutes later we arrived to my house and Derek pulled up in the driveway and turned the car off. I sat there silently thinking of something to say without sounding like a complete jackass.

"Um, do you want to come in and see the studio?" I asked. "You know; so you can see what you're dealing with."

He looked hesitant for a second. And then I just started talking again.

"I mean, you don't necessarily have to come in and see it since you're gonna see it tomorrow. But I just thought it would be a good idea. And I should just shut up cause I sound like I'm trying too hard…"

"Talae," Derek said. "Calm down. I'll go inside with you. And don't worry you're not trying too hard."

I sighed in relief. But then I thought I heard him say something on the lines of 'you don't have to.' But maybe he didn't say it. Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me. I sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time today and got out of the car. I walked to the front door and unlocked it. We walked through the living room and through the hallway which led to the studio. I switched the lights on and let him look around. There were mirrors on the front and on the ceiling and there were windows on the left side that showed the backyard.

"Well," I asked. "What do you think?"

I turned around and saw him still looking around. He looked as if he might like it. But with Derek Hale, you never know. He finally stopped looking around and his beautiful eyes met mine. Oh God how I could get lost in those in those eyes forever. If only he'd let me…

_Oh God Talae what are you talking about? You've known the man for all of two days… dos d__ías and you want to get lost in his eyes forever? Get real._

I shook my head of those thoughts and just kept looking at him, waiting for his answer.

"It's great," he said. "There's gonna be a lot of wall to paint so how about I come over at about ten tomorrow and buy some paint cause I know that Home Depot opens at 9:30 and then we can come here and get started."

Wow. I didn't know he would be so prepared. But I guess Derek is a man with a plan.

"Okay," I said. "So I'll see you later then?"

"Yeah. Later."

We walked out of the studio and to the living room and I showed him to the door. I thanked him and watched him walk to his car and drive off.

Sighing of exhaustion, I closed the door and turned off all of the lights before going upstairs. I closed the door to my bedroom and got ready for bed. I left on my sports bra and boxer shorts because the only way I can sleep is in my underwear.

I climbed in the bed thinking about everything that happened between Derek and me tonight. It felt really weird, the chemistry between the two of us it just makes me feel all girlie and bubbly inside. Something about him just attracts me and pulls me in. I've never felt this way about anyone before, ever. Not even about Vili. But I like it. After a few minutes with those thoughts I finally closed my eyes and once again dreamt about Derek Hale's gorgeous green eyes.

The sound of the door bell ringing jolted me abruptly from out of my precious sleep. I looked at the clock and it read 8:30.

_Must be those damn sales people again._

I rolled my eyes and laid back down hoping to get some more sleep before my alarm goes off but of course with this person's persistent ringing, that wasn't going to happen.

Sighing loudly, I pulled back the covers and left out of my room, not bothering to put a robe on – not that I owned one – and stomped down the stairs making my way towards the door. I opened the door and almost had a heart attack. I opened the door and saw Derek eyeing me up and down like I was a display in some museum while I just stared at him shell shocked.

_Goddammit I'm in my fucking underwear for Christ sakes. I hope he doesn't think I'm a freak because I practically answered the door half naked._

"Derek," I said, trying to make myself sound less nervous but I'm sure it wasn't working. "What are you doing here so early? I thought you were gonna be here at ten… its 8:30."

"I uh," he started, trying to figure out how to speak. "I know I said that I'd be here at ten but then I thought that I should come a bit earlier and help you put something down on the floors so when we come back from the store we can just stir the paint and get started. And I brought your container back too."

"Oh okay," I said and then I remembered that he was still standing outside. "Come in."

I let him in and closed the door. I was completely mortified. I mean come on, tell me how many times you have answered the door in your underwear and the person at the door is someone that you have really strong feelings for? Exactly! So don't judge me. I took a moment to myself so I could calm down and then I walked into the living room.

We were both standing there with in awkward silence. I mean of course it's awkward; I'm standing in the middle of my living room in my underwear. I just kept my head down waiting for Derek to say something. And it looked like my prayers were answered when he cleared his throat. I looked up at him waiting for him to say something once again.

"Uh, here's your container," he said holding it out to me. I smiled slightly and took it.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem."

"Um let me shower and put some clothes on and then we can put something down on the floors. So make yourself comfortable, you can watch TV if you want. The remote is on the coffee table."

He nodded and went to go sit down on the couch so I took that as my opportunity to put the container on the kitchen counter and then speed up the stairs and into my room. I slammed the door and pressed my back up against it running my hands through my hair. I hope that he didn't think that I looked ridiculous. I do not need the embarrassment.

Shaking my head I leaned off of the door and went to my dresser to get some underwear and then to my closet to pick out something to wear. After a few minutes I eventually decided on wearing my favorite Maroon 5 t-shirt and a pair of black jeans with red and black Nikes. I grabbed a towel and walked into the bathroom that – fortunately for me – was a part of my bedroom. I turned the water on and waited for it to warm up. After a moment or two I stepped into the shower relaxing as the warm water hit my skin. I washed my hair first and then eventually the rest of my body.

After that was done I stepped out of the shower, brushed my teeth and walked into my bedroom. I put on my lotion and deodorant, dried my hair and put it into a high ponytail and then I started to get dressed.

After I was finished I walked to my door, closed my eyes and took a deep breath pressing my forehead against the door. I don't want anything to go wrong today, like I just hope that I don't embarrass myself around him. I want this day to be a good day. With a sigh I opened the door and stepped out of my room. I ran down the stairs and saw Derek looking at the pictures that I had on the mantle. I walked over and stood next to him. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the picture that I couldn't believe that I would even put out, one that Scott and Stiles were surprised at me for putting up there.

"That's my mom," I said in a low voice.

"You look just like her," he said back, not taking his eyes off of the picture. "I thought that since your mom left you and father years ago, that you might hate her, maybe not hate but have some sort of hostility towards her. Almost as if you might resent her for what she did. But obviously since you put her picture up here, I'm guessing that that's not the case."

He was looking at me my I still had my eyes forward. After a moment or two I finally looked at him, our eyes green meeting green.

"You're right I don't hate her," I said. "I could never hate her. She's my mother. But I'll never know the true reason behind her leaving. But I still love her and I miss her. So I keep her picture somewhere where I can see her face every day, even if it's not the real thing. And I don't resent her, maybe she left because she couldn't be here anymore and she thought that leaving me with my dad would be the best thing for me, well we both know that that wasn't true."

He nodded still looking into my eyes. It felt as if were looking into my soul. Like he could see every little secret that I had. Like he knew me inside and out. Suddenly I felt a tear stream down my face. I honestly didn't know why I was crying, but I felt like I needed to.

"I'm sorry," I said, slightly embarrassed and turned my face away from him.

"Hey," he whispered, using a hand to turn my face back towards him. "Don't be sorry." He wiped the tear away with his thumb, leaving a warm trail on my cheek from his searing skin. My breathing became labored and I felt my heart skip a beat. I don't know what came over me but I hugged him. I gave him a giant bear hug. I felt like it was something I needed. But I think that he needed it just as much as I did. He was hesitant for a second but then he wrapped his strong arms around me and I felt him put his face in my hair. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and let it out breathing in his enticing scent. Reluctantly I loosened my grip and stepped backward while he did the same. I looked into his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you," I said.

He smirked and it made my heart melt. "Don't worry about it."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "Well, uh I think we should put the stuff down on the floors."

I led him to the supply closet in the hallway and pulled out some old cloth and anything else that I could use and handed them to Derek. We walked to the studio and started to lay the cloth down, which didn't take that long. After we were finished I looked at the clock and saw that it was only 9:30.

"Hey Derek did you eat before you came here?"

"No. I didn't, why."

"Well I could make you something before we leave cause you must be hungry."

"You don't have to…"

"No it's okay. I want to. Plus I swear my stomach is trying to eat itself."

We both laughed at that and I walked out of the studio and towards the kitchen. I got out a couple of pans and set them on the stove. I walked the refrigerator and pulled out some eggs and bacon then brought it to the stove and turned on the burners. I prepped the pans and eventually put the food in.

It didn't take that long to cook so it took about ten minutes. After I made our plates I sat Derek's down in front of him and he smiled slightly.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," I responded. "Do you want some orange juice?"

"Sure."

I nodded and walked to the refrigerator and got out the carton. I went to the cabinet and pulled out a couple of glasses, poured the juice, put the juice away and was back in two minutes. By the time I got back, Derek was halfway finished. I swear I have never seen anyone eat more like that. Even Scott and Stiles don't eat that much.

"Well someone was hungry," I said. He chuckled.

"Yeah, I didn't know how hungry I was until I started eating."

I laughed and handed him his juice and sat down and started to dig into my food. We ate in silence, but it was comfortable silence. I could handle it.

"I've lived in Beacon Hills my whole life and I have never met you or even seen you before."

Derek and I were in the car on our way to Home Depot to pick up some paint. I looked over at him from the passenger's side of his car. It was a couple of seconds before he answered me.

"I lived here my whole life too. Until the fire, then my sister and I relocated. I just moved back."

"I'm sorry," I said looking at him with sympathy. "I could never fathom losing the people I loved and cared about. I can't imagine how you must feel."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It was a long time ago."

I nodded and tried to find a way to change the subject.

"So, uh how old are you?" I asked. I don't really know why I asked but for some reason I felt like I had to.

"22," he said nonchalantly. My eyes widened for a second but I quickly fixed my face.

"22?" I asked still surprised. He let out a chuckle.

"Yeah 22. Is that a problem?"

"No I was just asking cause I just wanted see how far apart we were in age."

"And why did you want to know that?" 

"I don't know. I was just asking cause I'll be 17 in like two weeks or I think it's a week. I'm not too sure. I don't know I've been so stressed lately I just forgot when my own birthday was." I mentally gave myself a palm to the face. I probably sound so stupid.

"When's your birthday?"

"September 15th."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Talae..."

"Yeah…"

"Today's the 9th. Your birthday is this Friday."

God dammit I should've known! No wonder why Stiles wanted to have the housewarming on Friday.

"Oh my God. How could I forget that my own birthday was this week! I feel like a complete idiot."

"You're not an idiot, Talae," He said, looking at me. "You were under a lot of stress with being emancipated to moving into your new house, and trying to keep it from your father. I could understand you forgetting something as simple as your birthday."

I nodded thinking it over. I have been stressed lately and I guess I would forget my birthday. Typical Talae.

"You're right I have been stressing lately with school, the move, Vili…"

I stopped myself before I could say anymore. I just totally put my foot in my mouth. I shouldn't have mentioned Vili. Because if I know Derek the way I've known him for the past couple of days, he would want an explanation and a damn good one at that.

"Who's Vili?" he asked. He was facing forward. Thank God he wasn't looking at me because I wouldn't be able to look at him. He saw that I was hesitant to answer and he took one hand from the steering wheel, brought it to my hand that was resting on my knee and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You think you can't tell me?"

"No it's not that," I said. "It… it's just, Vili is my ex and we dated for like a year and a half and I broke up with him because he cheated on me with my former friend Gloria."

"How did you know he cheated?"

"I caught them having sex in the girls locker room on my way to basketball practice."

We were at the store now and he had already parked the car and turned the engine off.

"I thought that it was my entire fault," I said. "Like if I had just gave him what he wanted then it would've never happened."

"It wasn't your fault," he said looking at me. "He didn't realize what he had until it was gone. It's _his_ fault; _he_ missed out on something really special."

"I know that _now_ but not when it happened I had no common sense. He treated me like shit and I'm better off without him."

"Is he the reason why you feel like you're not worth anything?" he asked.

"Him, my father, ect."

"You should never feel like you are anything but beautiful," he said suddenly. "You might not believe me now, but you will."

We were looking into each other's eyes again like we were last night. We were in our own little world. Derek started to inch closer and I did the same. Our faces just mere inches apart. I licked my lips in anticipation as he moved closer. Our lips were centimeters apart and I was waiting for his lips to touch mine. But as my luck would have it, the sound of a car horn jolted us back into reality.

"We should probably go in," I said, getting out of the tension filled car without waiting for Derek to reply. As I got out of the car I took a deep breath and let it out. I waited until Derek got out of the car. When he got out, he just walked towards the entrance of the store. I ran to catch up with him and reached the entrance. When I walked next to him, he didn't say anything.

We walked all the way to the paint section and were greeted by one of the sales people.

"How can I assist you guys today?" he asked smiling.

"Um I was looking for some paint for my studio. I'm looking for black and neon colors."

"Neon?" I heard Derek ask.

"Neon, is that a problem," I said.

"Nope," he said popping the 'p'.

I smiled and turned to the sales person.

"Okay well lets go find some paint."

After a half an hour of looking I finally decided on my colors the only regular color I picked out was black but the rest were neon. I picked green, blue, orange, pink, and purple. Derek had still looked at me like I was crazy for wanting those type of colors, but I didn't care. I also got brushes, the things that you put paint in and rollers. Once I paid for my things we headed to Derek's car and he popped the trunk so I could put the paint in. I sat everything in the trunk, closed the door, and slid in the passenger's seat, where Derek waited for me.

When I was safely inside Derek wasted no time pulling out of the parking lot. The ride back to my house was silent and awkward. The tension in the car was so thick you could cut it with a knife. When we were in the parking lot earlier I wanted to kiss Derek. But I don't know if he wanted to kiss me, and when that horn went off he realized that he was making a mistake and that's why he didn't say a word to me. I want; no I _need _to talk to him about this.

We pulled into my driveway and Derek wasted no time getting out of the car, popping the trunk, getting the paint out and heading towards the door. Shaking my head, I climbed out of the car and walked to the door and unlocked it, letting us in.

I closed the door behind me and headed towards the living room where Derek was. We stood there in _extreme_ awkward silence. You know the kind that you desperately try to avoid?

Yeah. That kind.

He didn't look at me. He just had his head down as if he were ashamed. After a few minutes he finally looked up at me, his face etched with confusion.

"What was that back there?" we said at the same time. Embarrassed, I shut my mouth quickly and shrank back.

"You go first," I said.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I don't know. I… guess we were about to – correct me if I'm wrong – kiss. And somehow we were jolted back into reality by a blaring car horn? Oh and then I realized what was happening and fled the first chance I got cause I was so mortified and shocked?"

"Look Talae I…"

"You don't have to explain yourself."

"Yeah I think I do."

I looked up at him. His beautiful eyes boring into mine with such intensity that anyone would look away. But I didn't.

"Okay," I said. "Explain."

"I feel something for you," he started. "I don't know what it is or when or why I started feeling this way. But I'm gonna find out because…"

"You don't want it."

"What?"

"You don't want the feelings that you have for me," I said. How could I ever be so dumb to think that someone like Derek would want someone like me?

"I do."

"You do?"

"Yeah," he said never taking his eyes off of me for a second. "I want it. I want you. But I'm scared."

My eyes were like saucers at this point. _Derek Hale is scared?_

"Scared of what?"

"Scared of trusting people. Of being hurt, lied to…"

"You can trust me," I said moving closed to him. "I would never hurt you or lie to you."

"That's the thing. I _do_ trust you, I do but for some reason I don't trust myself. If I ever hurt you it would be like hurting me."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me. I see it in you. You couldn't hurt me even if you wanted to…"

"I don't want to," he said harshly.

"I know that," I said putting a hand on his chest. "I was just trying to make a point. And that point being that I would never hurt you and you would never hurt me. And I want the same things that you want. And whenever you're ready to come to me and take this," I said motioning between us. "To the next level. Then I'll be here."

"You think that this is too fast since we only met two days ago?" he asked.

"No," I said shaking my head. "If we didn't have these intense feelings for each other, it would be way different."

We were extremely close to each other. We were looking into each other's eyes. I was getting that feeling again. That feeling where my palms sweat and I get butterflies in my stomach. I loved that feeling. Our faces were inches apart.

_This is it!_ I thought. _He's finally going to kiss me._

And he did. He gave me the most amazing searing kiss. The best kiss of my life.

On my forehead.

And you know what? I don't care. He still kissed me and that's all that matters.

"I think we should start painting now," he said.

"Okay," I nodded.

We separated and I sighed.

"If you don't want to get any paint on your jacket, you can put it in the closet," I said pointing towards the closet in the hallway.

"Okay, thanks."

I smiled and made my way to the studio grabbing a couple of cans of paint on the way. When I got in there, I set the paint cans down and waited for Derek to come in. When he came in, he wasn't wearing his jacket, but he was just in a plain white t-shirt.

"Hey, I'm gonna go change, I'll be right back," I said. Not waiting for him to answer I ran to the living room and went up the stairs to my bed room. I went into my dresser drawers and dug out a pair of black shorts and a black tank top. I quickly changed, grabbed my iPhone and docking station and ran back downstairs and into the studio, where I found Derek stirring paint.

"Hey," I said, walking in. He looked up from what he was doing and stopped all movement. His eyes scanned over my body, he breathing looked like it was more labored.

"Is something wrong?" I asked concerned. "Why are you breathing like that?"

"You're gonna be the death of me, you know that right?" He said.

I raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He sighed and went back to work. "So," he asked. "What are we gonna do with this paint?"

I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off.

"Besides painting the walls." He and I both laughed.

"We're gonna paint the whole wall black and then splatter the walls with neon."

"That seems cool," he said looking at the walls.

"Uh no it's awesome."

We had only been painting for 15 minutes and Derek was already rid of his shirt, still painting and trying to kill me in the process. The way his muscles contracted every time he moved the roller up and down, his back glistened with sweat and the tattoo in between shoulder blades made him even sexier than I thought he was. He's trying to kill me. I know it; he knows I know it.

_Well two can play at that game Mr. Hale!_

"Wow it's really hot in here," I said sighing hoping he wouldn't see through my act. "I should've brought my fan down here."

"Do you want me to get it for you," he asked. "Just tell me where it is and I'll go get it."

I shook my head. "No, I think I just need to shed some clothes."

He looked taken aback by my statement. "What?"

"Yeah," I said nonchalantly. And then I did something that I would never picture myself doing in front of any man.

I took off my tank top.

"Whew! That feels so much better."

Derek started at me the same way he did this morning. He squeezed his eyes shut and grunted.

"Is something wrong Derek?" I asked cocking my head to the side the way I always do whenever I'm confused. Although this time I wasn't confused.

"Uh nothing," he said shaking his head. He looked like he was in pain and was holding his stomach.

"Are you sure?" I asked moving closer to him and I put a hand on his big strong shoulder. "Do you need a stress reliever?"

Derek looked at me for a while with an expression that I couldn't quite describe. Eventually he nodded and I smiled.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

I walked out of the studio and tried to add a certain sway to my hips so I could give him a little show and I heard him groan slightly as I was exiting the room. Once I was in the hallway, I felt it was safe to start grinning like an idiot. When I got to the kitchen I started to clap my hands and jump around in circles.

"I WON! I WON! I WON! I WON! HA! TAKE THAT…OH MY GOD DEREK!"

I was surprised to see Derek standing behind me with his arms folded across his chest and he was giving me a look of disapproval.

"So you were messing with me," he said, advancing towards me. Slightly frightened I backed away from him and bumped into the counter. With nowhere left to go, Derek sandwiched me between him and the counter. At this point I was panting and I could feel palms getting sweaty. (I noticed that I've been doing that a lot lately)

"That wasn't very nice," he whispered, his face was inches from mine. God, I hope that he's not getting this close just to pull away. Because if he is then I would be very upset.

"Who said I was nice?" I said looking into his beautiful eyes. I was trying to be tough but it wasn't working. I was taking a huge leap of faith here; I have no idea where this was going or where it was going to take me but I hope he takes the bait.

Derek linked his arms around my waist and put his face into the crook of my neck.

_Well damn, I guess it worked._

"Well I just assumed that you were a _nice, sweet, _and _innocent _person but I guess I was wrong." His warm breath was fanning across my neck. My breathing was getting choppy and I felt like I was about to explode.

"Well you know what happens when you assume." Derek lifted his head up and looked at me and I swear to God that he could see into my soul. He lifted me up and sat me on the counter. Did he seriously thing that was gonna get me to crack? I lifted an eyebrow and smirked.

"Is that all you got?" I asked wrapping my legs around his waist and pulling him as much as I could towards me so he could stand in between my legs.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at me. I was eagerly waiting for him to say something, anything. After a few minutes he still didn't say anything and it was driving me insane.

Then, he did the unthinkable and crashed his lips to mine. His lips were incredibly warm and soft, like cotton. He pulled me closer to him putting his hand on my waist. I put my hand through his short hair tugging on it a little. His tongue traced my bottom lip asking for entrance. I opened my mouth letting him shove his tongue into my mouth. He fisted my hair with his hands bringing me even closer. I put my hands on his strong shoulders and pushed him a little and we both gasped for air. His forehead rested against mine and he was looking into my eyes. I could feel him in the very depts of my soul. We stayed like that for quite some time. Breathing hard, trying to catch our breath.

He backed away a little but didn't take his eyes off of me. I ran a hand through my hair and closed my eyes for a brief second and opened them. Derek was still standing in front of me. He was breathing hard and his hands were at his sides.

"That was…" I started, trying to find the right words to say without sounding like an idiot. "Freaking _amazing_."

He looked a bit self-conscious for a second. "Really?" he asked. "You liked it?"

"Are you kidding me? I loved it." I asked hopping off of the counter. "Excuse the cliché, but that was the best kiss that I've had, _ever_! Not that I've kissed a lot of guys though."

We stood there in silence for a couple seconds. And in that couple of seconds I walked over to him and put my arms around him and he immediately wrapped his strong, warm arms around me and I felt so safe and secure, like nothing could ever hurt me ever again. I want to feel this way for the rest of my life. As crazy as it may seem I'm falling for Derek and I can't stop it. Hell, I don't _want_ to stop it.

"It was the best kiss I've ever had too."

I looked up and saw Derek's eyes boring into mine and I smiled.

"Then," I said innocently. "Maybe we could do it again."

"Oh no," he mocked. "Again?"

I slapped his arm and he laughed. He bent his head down and softly put his lips to mine. I pulled away reluctantly.

"We seriously need to finish painting." I said. Derek nodded and grabbed my hand, leading me toward the studio.

As soon as we were in the studio, we immediately went to work. Within a half an hour we were finished coating the walls in black.

"Maybe we should let the paint dry and then come back and splatter the neon," I said glad that we were finally finished with the hard part.

"Okay," he said. "What should we do while we wait?"

"I don't know," I said. "Sit, talk, watch the paint dry, make out, watch TV, make out…"

I heard him chuckle. "So you want to make out?" he asked.

"How'd you know?" I asked in faked surprise.

"I had a hunch," he said. I laughed and leaned in to kiss his and he met me halfway, crashing his amazing lips to mine.

After making out for a whole half hour, we finally noticed that that paint had been dry for quite some time. We got up and opened the neon colored paint cans and stirred the paint a bit. I went into the corner and grabbed several paint brushes and walked back over to Derek.

"We'll use these to splatter the paint on the wall," I said handing him a couple of brushes.

"Okay," he said. "Is there any way that you want this done?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "Whatever you come up with, just go for it."

With that I dipped one paint brush in the orange paint and another in green paint and swiftly swiped my arms around and saw the result of my good work. I turned and looked at Derek, pointing to the wall.

"See? Like that."

He nodded and dipped a brush in pink paint and a brush in blue and started to furiously spatter paint on the walls. I smirked at his work and continued to do my side. I had no idea that Derek was so closed because I threw my arm back – with a paint brush that had a lot of paint on it – and I heard him grunt. I turned around to see his face and hair splattered with green paint.

"Derek I am so sorry," I cried walking closer to him. He made a face that made me think that he was completely furious with me, but then he smirked.

"If you wanted to have a paint fight," he started. "You just had to say so."

And then he grabbed a brush, dipped it in blue paint and flicked it in my direction covering my stomach with it.

"You are so _dead_!" I shouted dipping my hand in orange and flinging it at him, covering his chest and jeans.

We were throwing paint at each other managing to get it on the walls. And then I heard a song change on my phone…

_Cause I__just wanna__do you in the__paint__  
><em>_I wanna make__love__to you in the place__  
><em>_rolling around in the mess that we made__  
><em>_Brushing and stroking the best sex we made__  
><em>_And now I'm putting in your hair__  
><em>_And you're rubbing it on everywhere__  
><em>_I__just wanna__do you in the__paint__uh oh__  
><em>_Girl don't be shy I know you ain't__  
><em>_Cause I__just wanna…_

I chuckled, blushing furiously and looked away from him. He walked over to me grabbing my chin gently so I could face him. Derek slowly lowered his lips to mine running his fingers through my hair. I closed my eyes and suddenly I could imagine everything. I could see Derek and me getting married, little children with my wavy hair and Derek's eyes. As cliché as it sounds, I could picture a whole life with Derek, and it all started with just one kiss. It all became too much for me and I backed away gasping. I stared at Derek, breathing hard.

"What was that?" I asked.

"You saw it too?" he asked shocked. "I…I thought that it was just me."

"I saw it. I saw _everything_…" I paused for a second. "What do you think it means?"

"We're meant for each other." He said it without hesitation. As if he knows it for a fact. I couldn't say anything else. I just hugged him with all my might. He kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arms around me for what seemed like the thousandth time today. But I didn't mind.

"Thanks for helping me paint today. I really appreciate it." I said. We had stopped with our paint war and showered – separately – and we ate and talked. Now we were at the part that I hated. The part where he had to leave. I couldn't stand to be away from him.

"It was no problem," he said. "Plus I got a few kisses out of it so I can't say it was for nothing."

I laughed. "So I'll see you soon?" I asked hopefully.

"Definitely," he said kissing me softly before walking off to his car. I closed the door and pressed my back to it. After I stood there for a few seconds I realized something.

_I'm in love with Derek Hale._

(Scott POV)

I never thought I would be saying this but, thank God it's Monday! I have just had the craziest weekend of my life. First on Friday, I totally ditched the most beautiful girl ever – whom I still can't believe would ever agree to go on a date with me – and then I go home and start to grow claws and fangs… CLAWS AND FUCKING FANGS! And you think that's the worst part? No that's not even close. In the middle of my freak out Stiles comes to my house and tells me that Derek Hale gave Allison a ride home, when it was him that killed that girl I found in the woods the other day. And he gave her a ride home! That's like a fucking free pass to kill someone. So I jump out of my bedroom window – a two story window by the way – and run off into the woods looking for Derek because I knew he was there. I could smell him. I got to the middle of the woods, meeting Derek halfway. I was determined to kick his ass. I smelt two different scents coming off him, Allison and… Talae! Furious I charged after him tackling him to the ground. We fought for a while until an arrow shot through my arm and pinned me against a tree. I later found out that I was a fucking werewolf and that those people were hunters who could _kill me!_ I feel like this is a bad dream and that at any moment I'll wake up.

"HEY SCOTT!" I turned around and saw Stiles running towards me.

"Hey man," I said. "Did you find out if Talae's okay?"

"Yeah, I called her and then I went to go see her. She said she was okay but she was mad at me for leaving her at the party. She popped me a good one in the arm. Man it _still_ hurts!"

"Let me see," I said. Stiles lifted up his shirt sleeve and showed me the bruise on his arm.

"Jesus Christ! What did she do to you?"

"She just punched me," he sighed. "Who knew that someone as small and skinny as her could do damage like this."

I laughed and turned to my locker while Stiles went to his.

"Hey," I heard next to me. I looked to my left and saw Talae standing next to me looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Why?"

"Because you were acting weird when you left on Friday," she said. "Allison thinks that she did something wrong to make you leave the way you did."

I ran a hand over my face and sighed. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Then what happened? Why'd you leave?"

"I uh… I had an emergency. I was kind of freaking out so I didn't have any time to tell Allison what was going on."

Talae looked at me as if she could see through my lie. I didn't want to tell her about my being a werewolf. At least not yet anyway. I think it's better if she didn't know. She raised an eyebrow and gave me a skeptical look.

"Okay," she said throwing her hands up. "Where's Stiles I need to apologize for punching him. I feel really bad."

"Yeah he told me you punched him in the arm. Left him a nasty bruise."

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes started to water. "Oh my God, I didn't know I hit him that hard. I was just mad. But I'm not anymore I didn't mean it."

She was starting to hyperventilate so I grabbed her, pulled her to me and hugged her.

"Hey, don't cry," I said stroking her hair. "He's at his locker. He's not even mad at you. I'll go with you."

She pulled away nodding and tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear. We walked to Stiles' locker. He was digging through it when he saw us. He closed it and smiled awkwardly at Talae.

"Hey Tee," he said.

"Hi," she said softly. "Um, I'm really sorry about hitting you. I was mad for like a split second and I really didn't mean to hurt you. And then Scott told me that I left a bruise on your arm and I feel really horrible. I'm so sorry."

"No hard feelings. It's cool. If it makes you feel any better, I've learned my lesson."

"Yeah but _I_ don't feel better. In fact I feel like a really shitty best friend. A really shitty best friend who wants to heal your bruise and make your arm all better…"

"You want to heal me?" he asked.

"Yeah. I don't have these powers for nothing. Besides I don't want you to walk around all day with that bruise."

"Okay, I guess." When he said that, she seemed to relax.

"Alright, lift up your sleeve." She commanded. Stiles lifted his sleeve and revealed the bruise. Talae sighed shaking her head. I knew she was beating herself up for it but she didn't need to. She lifted her hand covered the mark gently. She closed her eyes and opened them again and pulled her hand away. I looked at Stiles' arm and the bruise was gone. I looked at Stiles and his eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"Oh my God," he said. "What did you do?"

"I healed you like I said I would."

"You really are a healer," he said pulling Talae into a hug. She pulled me in too so we could have a group hug. The bell rang and Talae pulled away telling us goodbye and went to class.

"So we all set for the surprise?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah, she's coming on Wednesday. But where is she gonna stay?"

"She could stay with me."

"She could but Talae goes over your house more often than she does mine."

Stiles thought about it for a second and nodded his head. "Yeah, keep her with you."

"I hope this works."

He slapped a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. We got this."

(Talae POV)

As I sat in Math class I couldn't help but be bored. I swear school is like a form of child abuse.

"Hey Talae," I heard someone call to my left. I looked and saw Vili smirking at me. I rolled my eyes. What does the troll want now?

"What?"

"Oh come on. Is that any way to talk to me? Your first love?"

"Love? Really?"

"Yeah, you know you loved me. I bet you still do. Don't you Talae?"

"Nope. I love someone else." I wondered how he would feel about my being with Derek. Then again I thought, 'who the hell cares?'

"Who? That Stiles kid? Scott?"

"No. I mean yeah I love them like they're my brothers but not like that. It's somebody else… _why _am I talking about this with _you_?"

"Because I know you still get that special feeling you get when you talk to me."

I snorted. "Please the only 'special feeling' I get when I talk to you is nausea."

His face looked contorted with anger and pain. Normally I would have shrunk back waiting for the impact of his fists on my body. But not this time. This time I was standing – more like sitting – tall with my head held high.

"Miss Lopez, Mr. Moss, is there something that you two would like to share with the rest of the class?" Mr. Barley asked.

I turned in my seat to face the front of the classroom and raised an eyebrow. "No sir," I said sweetly.

"Then no talking and pay attention."

"Sure thing."

By the time class was over I was out of the room in a flash. God I hate Math! I can't wait until I'm done with it.

"Talae!"

I turned around and saw Allison and Cruella – Lydia – walking towards me.

I smiled sweetly. "Hey Allison. _Lydia_."

"_Talae_."

"Be nice Lydia," Allison said. Lydia rolled her eyes. "So Scott told me that your birthday is on Friday…"

"Ugh _why_?"

She laughed and continued. "And Lydia and I were thinking…"

"More like Allison was thinking."

"That we should buy you a dress as your gift and you can wear it to your party."

"You guys really don't have to," I said. "I mean I'm a tomboy as it is and you trying to put me in a dress would be a complete disaster."

"Awe come on Talae please. I'll use the face. Stiles told me to use the face." And then she started using the face.

"Okay, okay I give. You can buy me a dress but…"

"Oh God I knew it," Lydia exclaimed.

"I get to wear sneakers with whatever you pick for me."

"Sneakers really?" Lydia asked.

"Yes Cruella, sneakers. Have you heard of them?"

"Of course I've heard of them! Ugh!" And with that she stormed off.

"We're going shopping on Wednesday, right after school." She smiled and then she walked away.

I sighed and walked to my next class wishing for the day to be over soon…

Over the next couple of days things went slowly as usual. There have been more reports of animal attacks and the town is starting to go into freak out mode. Scott made first-line which is unbelievable. I am so proud of him! And he apologized to Allison for ditching her at the party. But he's been acting pretty weird lately… Anyway he and Stiles have been coming over to help me plan the party. We went to Party City and bought tables, covers, balloons and other types of decorations. Stiles said and I quote 'This will be the party of the century! Fucking AWESOME!' I've been seeing a lot of Derek these couple of days and it has been absolutely perfect! We would talk and laugh. Just sit around, hold hands, flirt, make out…

Oh! I'm getting off track, sorry… Where was I? Oh yeah I remember…

I've been spending a lot of time with Derek and I'm the happiest I've been in a long time.

And now it was Wednesday. I was sitting in the lunchroom with Scott, Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Jackson, and Danny. Stiles and I were sharing lunch and watching YouTube on my phone; Allison and Scott were talking and being all lovey dovey, while Jackson, Lydia, and Danny were talking about something else.

"Why do you two do that?" I heard Jackson asked Stiles and I. I looked over at him and he looked disgusted. As if I cared.

"Do what, Jackson?"

"Share your food together? Aren't you afraid of catching his germs?"

"What the hell?"

"Don't listen to him he's just a jackass," Stiles whispered in my ear.

"Yeah which is why we nicknamed him Jackass," I whispered back. We both laughed and I turned back to Jackson.

"I share my lunch with Stiles because I never eat all of it and what I don't eat, he'll for me. Is that a good enough explanation for you?"

"Whatever, you look like you need to eat."

That comment hit a nerve.

"My weight is none of your concern!"

"I'm sorry but you look like a fucking twig. And you have since elementary school."

"Whatever," I said irritated and got up. I stormed out of the lunchroom with Stiles following me.

"Talae wait!"

I stopped in my tracks and turned around and looked at him. He had a look of pain and concern on his face. I gave him a sad smile and he gave one back.

"You okay?" he asked stepping more towards me.

"I'd be lying if I said I was," I answered honestly.

"Good thing you told the truth because you're a _terrible_ liar."

We both laughed.

"Sorry I stormed out like that. I just… I let that that asshat get to me and I shouldn't have."

"It's okay. You should've seen Scott's face; it looked like he was ready to kill Jackson."

"Yeah well he's not worth it."

Stiles pulled me into a hug and I just took it in. He pulled away and smiled. I smiled back.

"And don't worry about your weight. It's fine, hell you might be one of those miracle children who hit puberty by the end of high school."

"Yeah hopefully."

"Do you want me to grab your stuff and we can sit outside?"

"Sure."

"Okay, be right back." With that he left and went into the lunchroom and came back a couple minutes later with our things. I grabbed my stuff and thanked him. We walked out of the school and to the other side of the building and sat at the table that was under the trees.

We sat and talked for the rest of the period. When the bell rang we went back into the school and walked to Spanish class together. When we walked in the door I immediately sat down in my seat to avoid any confrontation with Jackson. When I sat down I looked up and saw him trying to make eye contact with me. I rolled my eye and waited for class to start. The late bell rang and class started. I cannot wait for class to be over!

"Alright class. I have a worksheet for you all and I will assign you partners... Jason, Taylor, Anne. Stiles, Scott, Valerie. Jackson, Vili, Talae….

"¡Dios mío! (Oh my God)" I said.

"Is there a problem Talae Sophía?" I hate it when she uses my middle name.

"Yes: I don't want to work with them!"

"Well tough, you're gonna be working with people that you don't want to in the future. Why don't you start now?"

I didn't say anything. I just sat my head down on the desk as I waited for her to finish assigning partners.

"Alright people let's go! This is due at the end of the period, so use your time wisely."

I just kept sitting at my desk with my head down, hearing desks being dragged across the room and put together. I felt someone tap my desk. I lifted my head up and saw the teacher glaring down at me.

"Talae Sophía, what do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Trying to avoid any and all confrontation with those two jerks you paired me up with."

"Go sit with your partners and do your work or you will get a zero on the assignment."

"I'd gladly take the zero."

"Talae Sophía…"

"Fine!" I said getting up. I took my books and walked passing Scott and Stiles.

"I don't like this," I said as I passed them.

I grabbed a chair that was at the door and I dragged it towards where Jackson and Vili sat. I plopped down and waited for Miss. Grady to hand us our papers. I took mine and effortlessly translated the sentences and vocabulary words within ten minutes without having to communicate with either Jackson or Vili.

"Could you slow down? It's kind of hard to copy off of you when you're going a mile a minute," I heard Jackson say. I stopped writing and glared at him for a few seconds, giving him the hint that I didn't want to be bothered with him and then looked back at my paper.

"Would you at least help us?" Vili asked frustrated. I gave him the same look.

"You guys have text books right?"

They nodded.

"Use them."

I got up from my seat and went to Miss. Grady's desk.

"I'm finished," I said placing the paper on her desk. She looked up from the book she was reading and took off her glasses.

"I figured you would be," she said. "With you being a fluent Spanish speaker, it gives you a boost in this class. Tell me again why you took this class."

"Because I wanted to be with my friends and they, for reasons that are unexplainable wanted to take Spanish. So I figured: why not?"

"Well I would say that you are a very loyal friend. Did you work with your partners?"

I gave her a hesitant look and then looked back at them, looking frustrated searching through their text books and then I looked back at Miss. Grady.

"They just wanted to copy off of me. So I was my own partner."

"Talae Sophía…"

"Miss. Grady…"

"Help them," she said.

"Why do I have to help them?"

"Just humor me please."

"Okay."

I walked back over to our dysfunctional group and sat down.

"Close your books," I said.

"What?" They both asked.

"Close. Your. Books."

"Why," Jackson asked.

"Do you want an 'A' on this assignment?"

They closed their books immediately.

"I am going to help you two, but I have a couple of rules," I started. "When I tell you to write something, you write it. Don't question me, don't make snide comments and act inappropriate, and do not and I mean _do not_ act like the complete and total douche bags that you both are. The second that I feel disrespected in any way, shape, or form, I am going to get up and leave you both to sink or swim on your own. You got it?"

They looked at each other for a second and then looked at me.

"Yes," they said.

"Good."

After 30 minutes of having to put up with those fools, the bell finally rang. I gathered my books and put them into my backpack and waited for Scott and Stiles to get their stuff together. When they were done we walked out of the classroom together.

"I am _so _glad school is done for the day!" Stiles sighed.

"You're preaching to the choir bud," Scott said in agreement.

"So what are you guys doing later?" I asked. Scott got this look in his eye as if he had a secret that he didn't want to tell.

"Uh, we're just meeting a friend," he said.

"Yeah, a friend," Stiles said.

"What friend?" I asked.

"She's… from out of town. You don't know her."

"Oh okay so can I meet her?"

"Yeah, on Friday. It's okay if she comes to the party right because I already told her she could come…"

"Yeah, definitely. I'm looking forward to it."

"Okay. So what plans do you have for the rest of the day," Stiles asked as we stopped to by our lockers.

"Allison and Lydia are taking me dress shopping for the party."

"You hate shopping. Unless it's for Maroon 5 t-shirts or sneakers."

"I know but I get to wear sneakers with the dress and Allison did the face – thanks by the way – so I gave in."

"Ah the face," he said as he closed his locker. "Works every time."

"I like this one," Allison said as she held the puffy pink dress up to me. Lydia, Allison, and I were in the all shopping for my party dress. I swear that this is proclaimed as absolute torture. I wish I could just be at home, maybe with Derek, making out…

"Really," I said. "You like this one?"

"Yes, it's really pretty. Don't worry you'll look great in it."

"I don't know," I heard Lydia start. "I think she'll look like a ballerina."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically. "That makes me feel so darn special."

"That's what I do." I chuckled. Lydia and I have sort of bonded a bit during these past hours. I think it was for Allison's sake. She's not as bad as I thought she was.

"Okay," Allison said. "Why don't we go over there and find some other dresses." She pointed to a large section of dress and I internally groaned. _I am going to die!_

"Or," I chimed. "We could just try these on and if all of these are duds, we can go over to that section."

Allison thought about it for a second and then looked to Lydia for confirmation; Lydia nodded her head.

"Alright," she said. "We'll go to the dressing room and have you try on the dresses and if they suck, we'll go find some other ones."

"Great plan," I said. "If it weren't for these dresses draped across my arms I'd give you two thumbs up."

And then we were off! I tried on a bunch of dresses. And every single one of them sucked. So we went to the section with mounds and mounds of dress and found ones that were just about my size. We went back to the dressing room and I tried them on. I was trying on the last dress right now. I was a white summer dress that had flowers on it and it came just above my knees. It was very pretty but I didn't know how Lydia and Allison would feel about it. I took a deep breath and stepped out of the booth. _God I hoped this was the right one_.

As I stepped out Allison and Lydia looked at me and gasped.

"What?" I asked. "Is it that bad? Do we need to look for more dresses again?"

"Oh my God," Lydia said rising up from her seat and walked over to me. "You look great!"

I was taken aback by Lydia's comment. I never thought that she would say something like this. She's never been this nice to me.

"Um, thank you…" I said, unsure of what to say to her.

"Look," she said putting an arm around my shoulders. "All of the crap that I've been giving you as a kid, I'm sorry. I guess when the other kids were making fun of you I wanted to be part of the crowd. And as time went on we started to hate each other. I know that it may not seem like it but I don't like hating anyone and I don't like for people to hate me. I'm willing to let the past be in the past; clean slate and let bygones be bygones. Deal?" She held out her hand for me to shake. This was a complete change in Lydia's character, but in preparations for change in my new life I guess this will have to be one of them.

"Deal." I took her hand and shook it.

"So Allison," Lydia said. "Doesn't she look great?"

Allison studied me for a second and in that second I got nervous. I prayed to God that we wouldn't have to go shopping for more dresses. She stood up and walked over to Lydia and I. She walked around me and examined me. Once she was in front of me she smiled and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Beautiful! Oh my God Talae this is totally the dress for you."

"You think so?" I asked skeptically. I wasn't really sure if I looked too good. The only time I've ever worn a dress that I could remember was my grandparents' funeral. And that was _years_ ago. I could only imagine how I looked now.

"Yes. You look great."

"Thank you," I said smiling.

After that ordeal we were finally finished with dress shopping. I swear my feet are going to be sore for a week! I am never going shopping again for as long as I live.

"So," Lydia started. "What kind on sneakers do you have that will go with the dress?"

"I have red converses, red Nikes and White Nikes."

"Okay well I think that when Allison and I get to your house on Friday, we can see which pair of shoes goes with the dress."

"Okay," I said. "Sounds like a plan. But I would really like to let you guys come to my house and let me feed you since you bought me this dress and I would be insulted if you didn't accept my offer."

Lydia and Allison thought about it for a second and accepted. I smiled and led them out of the store with my bag in tow.

"Your house is beautiful Talae," Allison said as we walked in. Lydia nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," I replied smiling. "My grandparents remodeled it almost seven years ago."

"What happened to your grandparents?" Lydia asked.

I never really talked about my grandparents' death. It was hard to talk about it. They have been more like parents to me than my biological parents ever were. They taught me to be strong and fight through every obstacle that came my way. They have always been there for me and I am grateful for what they've given me, what they hadn't given me because it inevitably made me the person that I am now and the person that I aspire to be.

"They died in a car accident a when I was 14. An 18 wheeler hit them and they died at the scene."

"I'm so sorry," Allison said putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks. They were like my parents and it was hard to see them go."

"Well they're in a better place," Lydia said.

"Yeah, they are."

After that sad and awkward moment, we went into the kitchen. I found out the Allison and Lydia weren't too hungry so I made a small vegetable tray with carrots, broccoli, and cucumbers and some dressing – which they eat happily.

After we ate, I took them for a tour of the house. I showed them my bedroom and the guest room along with my studio. I couldn't help but smile when I went in there because as I walked in, all I could think about was Derek and I kissing and I couldn't help but giggle when I thought about our paint fight.

"Are you okay, Talae?" Allison asked snapping me back to reality.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine," I replied trying to wipe the grin off of my face but failed miserably.

"Why are you grinning like that?" Lydia asked smiling back at me.

"I'm just thinking of some good memories; some _really_ good memories."

"Such as…" they egged on.

"Well someone helped me paint in here and we uh have a lot of fun."

"Would this 'someone', by any chance, be of the male persuasion?" Lydia asked.

I blushed and nodded. "Yes. He would."

Allison and Lydia squealed, rather loudly might I add. I think I'm deaf now.

"Oh my God." Allison squealed.

"You have to tell us everything," Lydia said.

"Yeah and don't leave out any details."

I sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you but I don't want you guys to tell anyone about this because word travels fast and I don't want him to think that I'm bragging or something."

"You have my word," Allison said.

"Scout's honor," Lydia said.

"Alright," I sighed. "Allison do you remember last Friday when we were at the party and we were standing outside?"

"Yeah," she said. "Why?"

"Well do you also remember who we ran into and took us home that night?"

She pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. Then her eyes widened and she smiled.

"Oh my gosh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Um hello, third person in the room," Lydia said. "Who was it?"

"Derek Hale," I said biting my lip.

"Derek Hale…" she said tapping her chin and looking up at the ceiling. "Wasn't he the guy who's family died in that fire?"

I nodded. "Yes."

"Hmm…" she said smirking. "He's pretty cute isn't he?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. I could totally feel my face heating up. Today was just a very embarrassing day for me.

"Yeah," I breathed. "He is."

"So what happened after you guys dropped me off?" Allison asked.

I told Allison and Lydia everything that happened that night and the following morning, with the exception of him seeing me in my underwear and me crying to him about my mother. I told them about our kiss and our paint fight – which they laughed about – I also told them about how much I liked him and that it has been a long time since I felt truly happy with a guy since I was with Vili. I never told them that I was in love with him but I was pretty sure that they got the idea.

After I told them the whole story, we went into my room to find a pair of sneakers that I could wear with my dress on Friday. We decided that I would wear the white Nikes so I set them aside for Friday. After another half hour, Allison said that she had to go home in order to be on time for dinner and Lydia said that she should be getting home too. I showed them to the door and thanked them again for the dress and told them that I would see them at school tomorrow and watched as they got into Allison's car and drove off. I went to close the door but something stopped it. I opened the door and smiled when I saw Derek standing there. He had a face that was unreadable; then again if I think about it, Derek is well known for his emotionless facial expressions.

"Hey," I said. "Come in."

I stepped back, opened the door wider, let him step through and closed the door. He stood in front of me and gave me an intense look. I wasn't sure if he were okay or not. I also wasn't sure what he was going to say, but I waited patiently. After about a minute or so, the anticipation was starting to get to me.

"Are you okay, Derek?" I asked moving closer to him, putting my hand gently on his arm. He looked at it and then back at me and it made me think that he didn't want me to touch him. I apologized and removed my hand, but before it fell to the side of my body he caught it, brought it to his lips, closed his eyes and kissed my knuckles. He opened them and laced his fingers through mine. I absolutely loved the tender moments that Derek and I shared. They felt so pure and innocent; like heaven on earth and I never wanted them to end.

"I want gonna wait until your birthday to tell you this, but I couldn't wait any longer," he said.

"Tell me what?"

"I think you might want to sit down."

He led me to the couch and we both sat down.

"What do you want to tell me?" I asked worriedly.

"Talae I really like you, _a lot_ actually and when I first met you I thought that you were one of the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my entire life. Even though I've only known you in this short time, I have grown to like you. I love to be around you, to see you smile, hear you laugh. I love kissing you and holding you, I love being able to talk to you and have that feeling of trust that I don't have with just anyone else. For the first time in six years, I'm happy; and not only and I happy but I'm happy but I'm happy with you. I know that it might be _way_ too soon to tell you this but I love you, Talae."

I was taken aback by what Derek had just revealed to me. I couldn't believe that he loved me. I was so happy and ecstatic. Yet I just sat there with a shock written face looking like a complete idiot. I love Derek too, with all of my heart and soul, but I never thought that he would feel the same way. I thought that I was going to have to wait for an eternity for him to say that he loved me back.

"Please say something," he begged.

I looked at him, my eyes swelling with tears.

"I love you too," I said. "You have no idea how it means to me that you said that you loved me."

Derek stared me for a while and then pulled me closer to him and kissed me. I closed my eyes and let the tears stream down my face. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him with all my might. We stayed like that for a while until he pulled away from me. I opened my eyes and saw him smiling and I smiled too and sat back.

"There was something else that I needed to tell you," he said, no longer smiling.

"You're not married are you?" I asked trying to lighten up the mood.

He chuckled. "No, I'm not married. But I don't know how you're gonna take what I'm about to tell you."

"It can't be that bad," I assured, touching his hand. "And even if it is bad, I love you, I'll still love you. Just tell me."

He took a deep breath and looked at me. "I'm a werewolf."

"What?"

"I told you it was bad."


	5. Parties and Paint Part 2

_On the last chapter of The Healer That Fell in Love with the Werewolf…_

"_There was something else that I needed to tell you," he said, no longer smiling._

"_You're not married are you?" I asked trying to lighten up the mood._

_He chuckled. "No, I'm not married. But I don't know how you're gonna take what I'm about to tell you."_

"_It can't be that bad," I assured, touching his hand. "And even if it is bad, I love you, I'll still love you. Just tell me."_

_He took a deep breath and looked at me. "I'm a werewolf."_

"_What?"_

"_I told you it was bad."_

* * *

><p>I stood up from my seat and paced the floor. A werewolf? Derek is a werewolf? I've just gotten the most shocking news of my life, but then again, I'm not really freaking out. Why am I not freaking out? Derek just sat there, watching me pace.<p>

"You're gonna go wear a hole through the floor if you keep pacing like that."

I looked up at him and sat down next to him. I looked at him with a confused expression. He back looked at me with an expression on his face that made me think that he regretted telling me. But then I thought: if he could tell me that he was a werewolf, I could tell him that I'm a healer. I love him and I trust him enough to tell him.

"I'm a healer," I whispered.

"A what?" he asked, confused.

"I have the ability to heal fast and heal others. If you can tell me that you're a werewolf, then I can tell you about myself too." I chuckled. "No secrets right?"

He chuckled too and grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together.

"No secrets…Which is why I have to tell you something else too."

"Díos mio what else?" I asked with a laughed.

"Scott's a werewolf too."

I stared at him as if he had three heads.

"No," I said. "He can't be. How did this happen? Did you...?"

"No," he interrupted. "It was someone else."

"Who?"

"An alpha. I have no idea who he is, but if Scott can help me I'll be able to find him and kill him."

"Why do you want to kill him?" I asked. "Is he like, in your territory or something? Are you an alpha too?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm a beta, like Scott. But I want to kill him because he's been the person killing people."

"Like that girl in the woods," I said.

He gave me a sad look. "Yeah, like that girl in the woods."

"Derek, what's wrong?" I asked. "Did you know her?"

He turned his head away from me, but I was having none of it. I grabbed his chin and gently turned his head to look at me.

"You can tell me," I said. "Don't keep it inside cause it'll eat you up. Please tell me."

He looked at me for a few more seconds and sighed. His eyes looked glossy with tears, like he was trying to hold them back.

"She was my sister," he said with a pained voice. "The alpha killed her."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "I'm so sorry."

He just shook his head. "The thing is… the fire was my fault."

"No it wasn't…"

"_Yes it was_," he growled.

"How was it your fault?" I asked, grabbing his hand giving it a squeeze.

"When I was in high school, I went out with a girl who was a little older than me," he started. "Her name was Kate Argent."

"Kate Argent?" I asked.

"Yes," he said. "I went out with her and as time went on, I started to fall for her so I told her what I was, thinking that she would love me the way that I am and if she did love me she wouldn't judge me or hurt me, but I was wrong."

"What happened?" I asked.

"My sister and I were coming home from school and we saw that the sheriff's and fire department were on our property. The house was in flames. We watched as paramedics pulled body bag after body bag out of the house."

He paused for a second and took a deep breath. I took his hand in mine and squeezed it reassuringly telling him that everything was okay and that he didn't have to tell me all of it. He looked at me and gave me a sad smile. I sat up a bit and kissed his forehead.

"If you don't want to say anymore then I understand."

"No," he said. "I want to tell you everything I just… this is the first time that I've ever talked about it. I wouldn't even talk about with Laura – my sister – I would just shut her out because it hurt too much.

"Take your time," I said.

"As I stood there I could hear her laughter. So I turned around and saw Kate smiling at me and I asked her what was so funny and she said 'I'm laughing because you had it coming.' And then she just disappeared."

_Ugh! That bitch! I'd like to tear her ass apart._

"After that I never saw her again and I'm glad for that because if I ever saw her I don't know what I'd do."

"You can't let her get you upset," I said. "That would be letting her win and she is in no way, shape, or form a winner. And the fire wasn't your fault, it was all her. She was the one that lied to you and manipulated you into thinking that she cared for you when all she really cared about was herself. To be honest, I want to hurt her for hurting you."

"You would do that?"

"Yes," I said. "I may be small and skinny but I'm pretty strong."

He chuckled and I smiled.

"See I knew I'd make you laugh."

Derek looked at me like he wanted to say something but he didn't know how.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was thinking about how you told me your story and about your father almost raping you and I couldn't help but think that the Kate that you were referring to was the Kate that burned my house down six years ago."

I thought about it for a second. I mean it did make perfect sense: if she was able to help commit an unsuccessful rape, she would be capable of arson and murder and God only know what else.

"I should've known from the moment you said her name," I said. "That bitch is evil."

"I agree," Derek said.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I said standing up and walked into the kitchen. I opened the cabinet for a glass and went over to the sink and turned the faucet on. I turned it off and took a drink of water. I set the glass down on the counter, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I stayed like that for a few minutes until I felt two arms wrap around my waist. I leaned back into Derek's chest, opened my eyes and sighed.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be."

We stood in silence, not saying anything for 5 minutes – I should know, I time it – it was like Derek knew that it was what I needed.

"So," he said, breaking the silence. "You love me huh?"

I chuckled and turned around so I could face him but his arms were still around me.

"Yes," I said smiling. "I" Kiss. "Love" Kiss. "You." Kiss.

"I love you too," he said looking deep into my eyes. "You have no idea how much."

Then he just stares at me. Like he wants to tell me something, but he's holding himself back from letting me know what it is. Did I have something on my face or in my hair? Was my shirt wrinkled?

_Come on baby, tell me something. Anything! What is it?_

_ "What are you looking at Derek?" I ask, brushing a stray hair out of my face._

He doesn't reply for a minute so I think he didn't hear me. So I just look down at my feet.

"You make me happy." he finally says.

I lift my head back up at him, my voice a quiet whisper.

"I didn't know you were _that_ unhappy before."

"I didn't either. I mean, I wasn't completely miserable but I wasn't completely happy."

A pause. He still doesn't move, his eyes a pool of wonders, secrets and love.

"You redefined happiness."

"And you light up my life."

(Derek POV)

She makes me happy. And that word can't even describe how she makes me feel.

It's funny how six years ago I promised myself that I would never let anyone –let alone any girl – into my life, tell them my secrets, fears, likes, dislikes. It was too risky. But at this point I thought 'What else do I have to lose? My car? My dignity? My life?'

As much as my life sucked, I wasn't ready to die. I didn't think that I was ready to die because I had some spark of hope. Hope that one day, I would meet my mate. And I would always think about how my dad told me about soul mates and a person being destined for me. I'd remember the conversation as if we had it ten minutes ago…

"_How will I know if it's her, dad?" I asked. _

"_Oh you'll know son," he answered with a chuckle. I felt like his answer was kind of cryptic._

"_But what will I feel?"_

_He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his head. _

"_You'll feel like you can't breathe. You'll find yourself deeply infatuated and rapt by her. When she walks away from you, you'll feel a tightening in your chest and almost as if you're being ripped in half, because wherever she is going, she will be taking part of you with her. Of course that is how I felt the first time I met your mother."_

"_Will she feel it too?" I asked._

"_She will, to some degree. The feeling is more intense for the wolf than its intended mate. But she will have the same feelings that you will have."_

I never really thought about it until now. At that time I had always thought that Kate was the one person for me, but I was just being a hormonal teenager who had thought he fell in love for the first time. Then I saw Talae for the first time and it was like a punch in the gut. I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest and I almost forgot the reason why I was there. And I did feel like I couldn't breathe. I looked into her eyes and felt that I had become one with her. When I left her with Scott and Stiles that day, it took everything in me not to grab her by the arm and take her with me. You'd think that for a born werewolf who had spent practically all his life trying to focus on controlling myself because of rage or lust, that I'd be able to restrain myself from kidnapping my mate.

I couldn't survive being without her or at least being able to be around her and making sure she was okay. But somehow I made it through those days maybe it was because I kept telling my wolf that he would see his mate soon again. That seemed to settle him down, but only for a little while.

Then seeing Talae at that party made me want to walk over to her, grab her, and take her home with me. But I knew that I had to contain myself because I was here to make sure, Scott didn't shift in front of everybody.

When I took her home after dropping the Argent girl off at her place, my wolf was itching to touch her. She told me about her party and invited me. I would rather stay at my pretty much nonexistent home where I wouldn't be bothered, but I didn't want to past up the opportunity to be in the same setting as her, so I told her I'd go and she seemed happy about that. I vowed that once I told her everything about me and if she were able to accept me, I would devote every second of every day to make my mate happy.

And here we were; I was holding her in my arms, burying my nose in her hair. She smelled so good, like roses and jasmine. I could hear her heartbeat and it was the same as mine and my heart was thumping like a horses hoofs on a dirt road. I closed my eyes and thought of how lucky I was that I could have someone come into my life and change the way I acted and felt. I love Talae. I've never loved anyone so much and I never will. I finally found my girl.

"I found you," I whispered softly. She giggled and pulled back to look at me.

"What are you talking about? I've been standing in front of you this whole time."

"No, I mean I found you – the person that I was set to be with since I was born – my mate."

"Mate?" she asked. "Like 'soul' mate?"

"Yeah. I know it's probably all confusing to you right now and you already said that you didn't want to talk about the whole supernatural thing anymore but when you're ready to talk about it again, I'll explain the soul mate situation."

"Alright," she said and sighed. She had a puzzled look on her face that made me think that she wanted to ask me something.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Um, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You're lying. Tell me."

She looked into my eyes and sighed. "I was just wondering… I mean we just told each other that we love each other and I was wondering; what are we? You don't seem like the type of person to put labels on relationships."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked away. I grabbed her chin and tilted her head towards me.

"You're right," I said. "I don't really like labels but I'd let you call me whatever you want to, just as long as we both know that I'm yours and you're mine."

She smiled and looked as if she were thinking. "I think… I'd like to call you my boyfriend if that's okay with you."

"Baby, it is more thanokay with me."

I leaned down and touched my lips to hers. I pulled away. She frowned and opened her eyes.

"Why'd you stop?" she asked.

"Because I wanted to see that beautiful face of yours."

She shook her head. "I'm not beautiful. At all, I don't even know why you…"

I interrupted her by smashing my lips to hers. I needed her to see that she was worth everything. I love her because she makes me happy and whenever I look at her, I can see my whole future, our future. Even if I wasn't a werewolf, I still would have loved her because she is my soul mate and I am hers. We were meant for each other.

I don't know what it was about her that made me not be the usual stone-faced, rude, sour person I was before I met her. I guess that with her it was different. I knew that whenever I wasn't around her, I would turn back to my usual self that was mad at the world, hating the person who made me that way. Then every time I see her it was like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders. She kept me grounded and most of the time, she kept me safe.

I parted my lips from hers and opened my eyes to see that hers were still closed.

"Look at me," I say desperate to look into her eyes.

She did as I asked and looked into my eyes.

"You _are _beautiful. So beautiful, don't ever feel like you're not. Because whatever your father and Vili told you, are lies. I know that after years of what you went through, my telling you that you are the opposite of what they said you are might take some getting used to. But I'll tell you every day how beautiful you are until you believe me, and when you finally do, I won't even stop telling you because I love you."

"I – I don't know what to say," she stuttered. Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"You don't have to say anything."

The tears started to fall down her cheeks and I quickly wiped them away with my thumbs. I hated to see her cry. It made me want to cry and if I started to cry, I'm afraid I won't stop. Because I'll be crying for everything that's happened over the last six years and it would be too much.

"I love you too," she whispered and kissed me softly, then pulled away. "So much."

* * *

><p>(Talae POV)<p>

The next day, I pulled up to the school feeling incredibly nervous. I had no idea how I was going to confront Scott for not telling me about his being a werewolf. I'm his best friend and he kept a secret this huge from me. I should have suspected that something was up when he showed me his bite mark and his skin was completely smooth as if he had never been bitten. And I know that Stiles knows too. Derek didn't tell me that he knew but I had an idea that he did. He and Scott have been having some secretive conversations over the last few weeks and I think that this is what they've been talking about. I don't care how they found out or when they knew, I just wanted to know why they didn't tell me. I sighed and got out of the car, grabbing my bag out of the back seat.

Each step toward the school was harder than the last because as I walked I saw both Scott and Stiles standing at the entrance and looking dead at me, waiting for me to hurry and get there. I took a deep breath and increased my pace. When I finally got there, they were both smiling at me but their smiles fell when the say that I wasn't smiling back.

"What's wrong Talae?" Scott said putting a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it away.

"When were you gonna tell me?" I gritted.

"Tell you what?"

I looked at him for what felt like hours and sighed.

"That you're a werewolf, Scott."

He looked shocked and kept starting at me. Mostly because he knew was caught in a trap and couldn't walk out. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into the school and walked into an empty classroom with Stiles following not too far behind. As soon as I heard the door close Scott let go of my hand.

"How do you know?"

"The question isn't how I know but why you never thought to tell me," I said. "You too Stiles!"

"Aw come on Tee we were gonna tell you," Stiles said trying to calm me down but I don't this that that was going to happen anytime soon.

"And when would that be? Huh? The next full moon? God, you'd think that my own best friends would tell me something _this_ important, but I had to find out from my boyfriend, who also happens to be a werewolf…"

"WHAT?" the boys shouted in unison.

"You have a boyfriend…" Stiles started.

"Who happens to be a werewolf?" Scott finished.

"Yes," I said. "I have a boyfriend and he's a werewolf. And he was able to tell me everything and that includes what he told me about Scott."

"Who is it?" Stiles asked. "Is it – is it Derek?"

"Yes it's Derek. We've been seeing each other for a while and just yesterday we agreed to be in a relationship with each other."

"Oh my God!" Stiles shouted.

"Are you out of your mind?" Scott asked.

"No I'm not out of my mind. He makes me happy, more than that and he's a great person. And he loves me and…"

"He loves you? Do you not remember the last time a guy told you that he loved you?"

I looked up at Scott in shock. I couldn't believe that he would bring that up. I couldn't believe that he would remind me about the hell I went through with Vili and how he had hurt me physically and emotionally.

Tears that I didn't know were forming fell down my cheeks. Stiles looked at Scott in the same disbelief that I did.

Quickly Scott regretted his words as soon as he saw my reaction.

"Talae I didn't mean to –"

"Why would you say something like that? After everything I went through with Vili, why would you even _think_ about bringing that up?"

"I – I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." He reached out to touch me and I backed away.

"No," I said shaking my head.

"Talae please," Scott begged.

"I – I can't right now. I've got to get to class." And with that I ran out of the room and didn't look back.

* * *

><p>Hi guys! I know that this chapter may be short, it has been a long time coming. I want to thank everyone who has followed my stories and have supported me. I love you all! Until next time...<p>

TTDH


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